Launceston Art Society announced the winner of their annual exhibition Celebrating Life on Friday.
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Artist Lynne Kelly was awarded the 60 Degrees $1000 award for her work Sundance.
Highly regarded Tasmanian artists Graeme Whittle and Doctor Edna Broad judged the the 71 paintings contributed.
Both judges thought Kelly’s work was an adventurous landscape which boarded on abstraction.
“The painting’s exploration of colour yielding a nice sense of flickering light,” they said.
“It’s nice to see something different.”
A first-time entrant, Kelly joined the Launceston Arts Society about 12 months ago.
“I have been an art and graphic design teacher for many years, I’ve always painted at home...but I have a bit more time now to donate to my own work and developing it,” she said.
“I was not expecting to win anything at all because I haven’t exhibited very much, so it is a great encouragement to keep doing it.”
Sundance was inspired by the way sunlight moves through the grass, changing colours.
While Kelly did not plan the painting, she spends a great deal of time embracing and observing nature for inspiration.
“I do like to spend a lot of time at the beach and the bush and it is a response to those things and the little things I observe and create,” she said.
I do like to spend a lot of time at the beach and the bush and it is a response to those things and the little things I observe and create.
- Lynne Kelly
“I live very close to the gorge so I spend a lot of time walking through the glass and trees, so you see a lot of different lights and colour changes.”
Artist Rosemary Hill was awarded the Greg Waddell Award for her work Birds Eye View – Fremantle.
Mr Whittle and Dr Broad complimented Hill’s ability to symmetrically break rules using a watercolour composition, drawing the viewers in with strong value contrasts and rewarding detail.
Artist Irina Grant Koch received the Religious Art Prize for her work The Holy Face.
In a first, the Junior Prize was awarded to two artists, Annabel Johnson for her work Bottle Brush and Ruby Hirst for I’m watching you.
Alison Cooper and Rachel Howell were highly commended for their pieces.
Celebrating Life would be open to the public at Holy Trinity Church until August 12.