Artist: Rachel Coad
Subject: Waldemar Kolbusz
Title: Indian Summer

Judges’ Comments:

Angus Trumble, Alan Dodge, Thea Costantino
“The winning artwork has a scale and presence and the subject’s personality has been captured superbly. The artist has moved beyond the photo realism and creates a sense of nostalgia through the use of sepia tones, cutting the subject out through a white background creates tension between something that is nostalgic, big scale and popping. It’s beautifully painted, very subtle belying the precision that it gives a few paces back. The limited information given by the artist provides a real sense of atmosphere. The soft technique is confident, consistent and feels effortless. It is a painter’s painting of a painter.”

Highly Commended Winners

Artist:  Daniel Smith Subject: Ben Elton Title: Thinking of you, Shakespeare

Judges’ Comments:

“Combined killer dead photo realist style with a beautiful sense of light, this artwork captures the subject well. The artwork reveals a flawless technique, particularly within the constraint of a black and white. It’s not just hard to do, but difficult to maintain the appeal on an intimate scale. It is incredibly deliberate, precise yet intimate and tender.”

Artist: Kate Kurucz
Subject:
Kazmer Zoltan Kurucz
Title: Dad and clams

Judges’ Comments:

“The judges responded to the work’s intimate scale and its luminous quality of light. The fact that the artist decided to have the subject facing away the viewer tells us a lot about his character and personality – there is a sense of diffidence in the man which keeps drawing you back to it. The treatment is confident, warm and bold without being flamboyant.”

$10,000 Tony Fini Foundation Artist Prize Winner

The Inaugural peer prize as voted by the finalists

$7,500 Amana Living People's Choice Prize Winner

As voted by the public

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Artist: Mark Tweedie
Subject:  Ken Bindle
Title: It wasn’t supposed to be like this

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Artist: Tom Macbeth
Subject:  Syd Kirkby MBE
Title: The Trailblazer