A weekend of Art - North and South

This years Franklin Arts Festival is currently on, celebrating its 25th year anniversary. 

The watercolour section was even bigger than last year, with almost 70 paintings displayed. Both this year and the last, the judges made special note of the watercolours in the show. 

Fiona Jack commented that:

'I found the truly splendid watercolour section to be the toughest to judge as I had about 9 paintings in equal first place for a long time until I eventually managed to narrow it down to a final first'

Last year, judge Peter Webb commented on the watercolour section: 'I felt that the artists generally had a better command of their medium than artists using oils and acrylic'

There are almost 800 works displayed in this exhibition, and the committee has put together a fabulous show. I thought the 'Shoebox Sculpture'  a particularly delightful category with some really quirky, imaginative pieces. 

The Supreme Award, selected from the First Prize awards across the entire show (watercolours, oils, acrylics, prints, photography, wood turning, etc etc) was awarded to a watercolour this year! I won't announce the winner here until it has been published by the Franklin Arts Festival, but it was fabulous to see a watercolour recognised in this way.

The Carmel College ArtFusions exhibition opened on the same weekend. This show has a reputation for putting together an excellent collection of work by new and established artists from across New Zealand. The range of work available was stunning, and the support for the show evident by the crowds of people through on a very wild and wet Auckland weekend. There was a selection of Artists in Residence during the show providing an insight into their creative process. This was my first time exhibiting in this show, and I was impressed by both the variety and the standard of the work on show, and the helpfulness of everyone I encountered.