THE All Creatures Great & Small members exhibition was officially opened on Sunday by Coffs Harbour Creative Arts Group (CHCAG) president, Sue Roberts.
The annual exhibition is a members-only judged competition.
“This is probably our most popular exhibition,” Ms Roberts said.
“Our members certainly enjoy entering their works, and it’s always a hit with visitors to the gallery.”
Prizes were awarded across all five categories: Oil/Acrylic, Watercolour, Pastel, Drawing, and Open, and were sponsored by CHCAG, Pacific Vet Care, and the Roberts’ Boy.
Col South, from the Woolgoolga Art Group, a well-known and recognised artist in his own right, judged the exhibition.
He commented on not only the calibre and skill of the art on display, but the overall look of the gallery and how well the art had been displayed.
“It was a difficult task to narrow down the winners as so many of the works had merit,” he said.
In an unprecedented move, Mr South gave a Judge’s Special Award to Ivinnie Brown for her drawing, “Morning Chorus”.
The People’s Choice winner of the previous exhibition, Anything Goes, was shared by Hilary Young for her watercolour work, Mostar Bridge, and Sharon Ingersole for her watercolour and pen work, Moroccan – Four Faces of Eve.
“Winning a People’s Choice is a wonderful validation of the appeal of an artist’s work,” Ms Roberts said.
Other winners were:
– Oil/Acrylic first prize, Ken Pay for “Mother”; second prize, Russell Craig for “Red Eyed Frog’; highly commended, Ken Pay for “Three Salmon” and Peter Magnuson for “Brumbies”.
– Watercolour first prize, Peter Wiseman for “Dusty”; second prize, Marion Beer for “Baby”; highly commended, Hilary Young for “Maddie on a Mission” and Peter Wiseman for “The Cockatoo”.
– Pastel first prize, Maxine Kohlhage for “Lurking in Twilight”; second prize, Joy Bentley for “Under the Sun”; highly commended, Rebecca Smith for “Ruby’.
– Drawing first prize, Maxine Kohlhagen for “Leafbound Voyager”; second prize, Jenny Hay for “Hippo”; highly commended, Maxine Kohlhagen for “Silent Squawk”.
– Mixed Media (Open) first prize, Rhonda Mair for “Red Wattle Birds in Banksias” and Cathey McIntyre for “Native Echidna”; second prize Sharon Ingersole for “Fishy Affair”; highly commended, Rebecca Smith for “Fluffy”.
The exhibition is on display at the Coffs Harbour Showground Gallery until Wednesday 15 October.
The Gallery is open Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 2pm. Entry is free.
By Andrea FERRARI
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