First Place in Fellowship of Artists Working Members Exhibition 2014

I'm just back from the Fellowship of Artists Working Members Exhibition, where one of my paintings (Awhitu Peninsula) was awarded first place, across all mediums.  

The judge was Greg Moyle, well known art collector and previous Chairperson of the then Auckland Council Arts, Culture and Recreation Committee. He gave a generous and detailed account of his decisions for all awards and merit awards.

Awhitu Peninsula is somewhere I've given a lot of thought to painting, as I've visited since childhood and have always been drawn to it. The Manukau Harbour beaches are stunning, the west coast beaches dramatic, and the topography of the peninsula is incredible. It is hilly, rugged and heavily populated with pohutukawa trees, absolutely stunning in summer. The Awhitu Regional Park was often my first stop when I visited from London, and even at high tide on a stunning day is regularly completely free of other visitors.

It was a lovely surprise to win the award, and exciting to see a watercolour recognised in this way in a mixed show.