When I was Young

by Tahlia Pearce

Celebrating – the artist’s skill in observation from life:
This artist celebrates the art of still life. From picking special objects and setting the scene, to bringing different textures to life.
I especially love the contrast between the soft, fuzzy bears and the solid heaviness of the stone; it shows how deeply the artist truly looked at their subject.

Scarlet Glass

by Alexandria Dunn

Celebrating – the artist’s skill in observation from life:
This piece exhibits a high level of attention to light, reflection, and shadow in a challenging still life. It successfully captures the difficult contrast between soft textures and translucent subjects through careful observation.

Mired

by Petrit Elshani

Celebrating – the artist’s skill in observation from life:
This is a lovely example of getting the most “feeling” from the “fewest marks”. This artist has focused on using bold, confident brushstrokes to simplify complex facial planes.

My Poppy

by Matthew Gibb

Celebrating – Originality:
This artist displays a unique take on painting from life combining originality and playfulness and literally popped from the wall. Take a close look as it gets better the more you look at it. Bold colour choices and confident placement give it a vibrant character and charm.

It Needs More Salt

by Amy Miller

Celebrating – Originality:
An everyday subject transformed and elevated with attention to the simplicity of shadow and light.

Hues of Autumn

by Sam Geritz

Celebrating – Originality:
A beautifully composed example of restrained focus and concentration. This artist has lost themselves in the subject in producing a cleverly composed and intriguing work of art.

Street Kitty

by Seras Pendragon

Celebrating – Originality:
I cannot help but smile when I look at this painting. A cheerful take and creatively composed with a skillful use of complementary colours of cools and warms.

B2

by Archer Tiel

Celebrating – the artist’s skill in observation from life:
A lovely, restrained brush technique paying attention to the light and shadow describing the essential planes of the face, neck and shirt in a confident painterly way for such a young artist.

Mother in the Bad Ischl Summer

by Weiliao Zhang

Celebrating – the artist’s skill in observation from life:
The most striking element of this painting is the observation of light and shadow and how that behaves in a physical space when describing a complex subject that includes foliage, architectural and human elements. All the while balancing technical skill with a strong sense of being there.

Asleep

by Bryani-rose Raines

Celebrating – a High Level of Accuracy and Refined Detail
An intriguing viewpoint elevates this small monochrome work. The technical mastery in its disciplined, accurate rendering, showcasing a highly refined control over the medium to achieve exceptional realism.

My Quiet Space

by Felicity Lu

Celebrating – the artist’s skill in observation from life
An outstanding artwork given the young age of this artist. Using a simple pencil to skillfully describe the variety of shapes, surfaces and textures observed in an everyday space, all while capturing the diffused light through a window to illuminate the scene.

Self Portrait

by Lilah McMahon

Celebrating – a High Level of Accuracy and Refined Detail
This work is captivating in its accuracy and disciplined observation. The artist has patiently captured the complex nuances of light and skin texture with a level of refined skill that brings the subject to life with startling realism.

My Appachchi’s Story

by Mahith Wijesooriya

Outstanding Originality:
I was captivated by this artist’s keen sense of observation, combined with outstanding originality, mood, and confident execution, all clearly intentional.

Balance

by Soroor Behbahani

Girl on Rug

by Alissa Lamb

As a judge, I was immediately drawn to ‘Girl on Rug’ for its thoughtful composition and refined sense of balance. The aerial viewpoint creates a flattened perspective that highlights the dialogue between the striped dress and the ornate rug beneath. I appreciate the artist’s confident use of cropping — the rug’s fringe at the top left and the extended leg anchoring the lower edge — which adds both tension and harmony to the work. The longer you look, the more you notice how the careful design and quiet emotion work hand in hand.

Self Thinking of Adam Cullen

by Daniel Butterworth

This work makes compelling use of the traditional, though not conventional portrait elements using a limited palette, perspective and movement. The paint reveals the artist’s physical presence in every mark, texture and rhythm. Importantly, the use of perspective also serves to highlight the artist’s own action of thinking and movement so that we witness the act of creation itself in this work. An outstanding achievement depicting the deep connection between the artist, his materials, and his life.

Self Portrait with Poppies

by Jared Fountain

The use of atmosphere in this painting is great. Brush marks are varied, and the composition is engaging. Interestingly, sharp edges are not used in the face, but reserved for the poppy leaves, leaving the face more ambiguous. A fascinating use of subtle layering of paint gives a sense of optical depth.
Overall, this portrait definitely has a sense of human presence and feeling.

Unravelled

by Hannah Aiello

Moments and Memories

by Kate Marek

This work is very powerful. The assemblage of nine separate paintings in a single composition makes a strong immediate impression on the viewer.⁠
The various views of the river at different times of the day make it very evocative of our Queensland capital (Brisbane is called the River City, after all). That the work has been executed en plein air is important and evident in the varying moods of each painting. All are distinct but linked together by beautiful colour harmonies.

Voir

by Julie Purcell

‘Voir’ is the French verb meaning ‘to see’, but also (as in English) to ‘experience’ or ‘understand’. It is an intriguing title and totally right for a work into which the viewer is drawn by a sense of quiet contemplation. The painting is of a local spot in Brisbane where families gather for picnics and a cooling swim, and it uses colour harmonies very redolent of southeast Queensland. Figures, swimming or just relaxing on the river-bank, are well integrated in an excellent composition of simple shapes and interesting silhouettes, enhanced by the rhythmic phrasing of black forms of birds across the foreground. As the title suggests, one sees but also almost feels the cool breeze and relaxing atmosphere the picture evokes.

Tropical Dome

by Beverley Tainton F.R.Q.A.S

Dramatic perspective is used very effectively in a work that engulfs the viewer in lushly colourful tropical foliage. Bright light filters down to the foliage in the foreground and then back up again via the circularity of the dome, creating a well thought out and unusual composition that is aesthetically very interesting and satisfying.

Travels with Gainsborough’s Blue Boy

by Robyn Bauer F.R.Q.A.S

I love the clever use of foreground and background, the clever play between total abstraction to representation, and the play of layering; story over story, over story! Well done, amazing work!

Still Waters

by Karen Dyer

This incredible little beauty is quite remarkable! I love how it has been abstracted on so many levels, from process to creation. Highly skilled paint work and many hours in the making, a well thought out piece. I could stare at it and find new things for hours and hours. Great piece, well done!

Abstract Assemblage 2

by Leigh Schoenheimer

This took me by surprise, it’s totally different from image to flesh. Fun and playful, I love the texture, playful use of shapes and shadows, beautiful variation in paint application, and overall joyful to experience; well done!

Midnight Garden

by Adele Bevacqua

A beautifully painted, expressive piece with a clever palette of moodiness and subtlety. The more I look at it, the more I love it. Well done!

Storm

by Lien Jansen

Beautiful brushwork and atmosphere. It captures not only the subject but emotions, with very little detail. A beautiful work, very talented and well done!

Hot and Dry

by Elizabeth Duguid

The painting I have chosen for the 2025 Fellows Recognition Award for Abstraction spoke to me the moment I walked into the gallery. I felt compelled to take a closer look and I was instantly moved by the dynamic and expressive use of colour emanating from gestural brush strokes applied spontaneously and rhythmically. The dark green provides a contrast to the interplay of the warm coloured foliage, and the lavender tones bring a softness. The composition is well balanced and gives a feeling of a “Hot and Dry” Australian landscape.

Beyond

by Linda Kypriadakis

End of Day

by Tony Walker

A wood filled composition with rich, vibrant shadows and misty depth. Lively brushstrokes and adjusted perspective lends the viewer to be drawn into this painting. Great balance and control of colour range. Less is more – well done.

Misty Morning Kangaroo Point

by Helen Caldwell

Clarity of thought with clear intention to develop a complexity of mid-tones to tell the story of an urban fabric with hinted edges and light points. The warmth of an early morning sunrise gives weight to the coldness of the fog filled morning river’s edge.

The Love Chamber 1

by Umihee Kim

Exquisitely crafted composition. Highly personal collection of objects reflecting a moment in time. Organisation of composition to the left opens a dialogue about another space and another moment.

Organic CPU

by Luella Price

Visually engaging and a strangely confronting subject.

Waiting 4EVA

by Robyn Carr

Great example of a work which has a strong sense of ongoing and unknown storyline.

Broken Mast

by Naomi Hatt

Deeper narrative illuminates a delicate balance between the koala and the leaves/galleon suggested to the left of composition. The interplay becomes more powerful than the detail. Control of tones, pencil strokes and composition is exquisite.

Beneath the Watch of Knitted Boughs

by Robyn Bauer

A calligraphic approach with repetitive dynamic contrasts gives this image a power and weight that elevates the composition beyond the static to a flood of complexity and detail.

Riomaggiore, A Patchwork of Colour, Cinque Terre, Italy

by Jan Hutchinson

Very considered work. Painstakingly executed while retaining a sense of life and colour.

Singing Bowl

by Richard Blundell

A highly intricate, multi-layered work that we both kept coming back to over and over again.

La Sylph

by Teresa Durie

Visually striking work that we found both eerie and intriguing.

Siblings

by Belinda Stokes

Very technical execution of a difficult subject with an endearing quality.

Self Portrait

by Lilah McMahon

Strongly rendered, considered work. An excellent use of colour, and an engaging subject matter.

Misty Morning Kangaroo Point

by Helen Caldwell