Source: Forbes Advocate
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Local artist Sampa Bhakta has been named the winner of the Forbes Shire Council Heritage Acquisition Art Prize during the Forbes Arts Society Central West Art Expo.
The watercolour painting, which features Forbes’ iconic Court House, received a $1000 prize and has been acquired by Forbes Shire Council to form part of their historic paintings collection.
The announcement of Mrs Bhakta’s success was made on Friday evening during an official opening by Mayor of Forbes Shire Council, Ron Penny.
President of the Forbes Arts Society Keith Mullette said the Heritage Week Competition theme ‘Art Works Depicting The Commerce of Forbes’ was chosen by council as a way of preserving Forbes’ heritage.
Artist and exhibition judge Jenny Forster of Tumut commended all the exhibition works on their quality.
In explaining her choices, Ms Forster said she looks for a number of different aspects including the ‘wow factor’, technique, originality, viewer attention and presentation.
This year marks the first time the Heritage Week art competition has been held in the lead up to the week itself.
In previous years artworks have been displayed during Heritage Week with the winners announced on the same night as the recipient of the Forbes Medal.
This year’s combined Central West Art Expo and Heritage Week Competition attracted over 150 exhibits ranging in mediums from watercolour, acrylic and oil paintings to drawings and photography.
Mr Mullette described this year’s competition as being a “big step up” on previous years.
“The overall quality of the number of good quality drawings and paintings was significantly higher,” he said.
“They (the judges) did have some trouble picking the winners – there were plenty to choose from.”
Mr Mullette attributed the increased entries to the Forbes Arts Society’s location on the corner of Templar and Lachlan Street.
“There are now classes which encourage people to participate in the competition, so there were people there [at the exhibition] that two years ago had never picked up a paint brush or pencil and that has come from having the gallery in the centre of town,” he said.
In addition to winning the council’s heritage acquisition art prize, Mrs Bhakta also won the Open Drawing category with her image of Anglesey House. Other local artists to collect prizes were Pamela Thomson who collected first and second prizes in the open painting category with images of ‘Beryl and Bert’s Music Centre’ and ‘Champsaur Winery’, and second place in the open drawing category with ‘Carrawobitty’.
John Dean was named the winner of the open photography section with ‘Burn Off’, with Jerad Wooldridge placing second with his photo of ‘Mezzanine’.
Winners of the primary painting and primary drawing categories will be announced at the Presentation Evening on Tuesday, May 7. The exhibition is open every day this week at the Town Hall from 10am to 4pm.
The exhibition’s last day is Sunday.
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