WANDA Driscoll may not call Cabonne home, but that hasn’t stopped the Orange artist from making her mark on the region’s creative community, taking home the $5,000 grand prize at this year’s Cabonne Acquisitive Art Prize.
The art tutor and longtime painter was awarded the top prize for a landscape inspired by the frost, mist and vineyards of the Central West, with the winning work announced at the prize’s gala night at the Cabonne Community Centre on Thursday 23 July.
For Driscoll, the win came as a huge surprise.
“I couldn’t believe it. I thought they just said my name,” she said.
Driscoll said the inspiration for her winning work came from the landscape she sees while travelling between Orange and Molong, particularly views towards Mount Canobolas.
“I like to take in what I’m seeing at the time, and that’s what I painted,” she said.
The painting reflects the distinctive Central West landscape in winter, incorporating the mist and frost that blanket the region, as well as the white netting covering vineyards and orchards around Mount Canobolas.
Driscoll said the idea had been developing in her mind for some time as she travelled through the region.
“Every time I drive, say to Molong or out that way, I look out that way toward Canobolas,” she said.
Driscoll said the painting was refined over several weeks, with the final work reflecting her willingness to move away from a more formal approach.
“I thought, well, throw it all up in the air and just do what I feel,” she said.
The win is the latest achievement in a long artistic career for Driscoll, who began painting and drawing after leaving school.
She has a history of signwriting and ticket writing for major department stores including David Jones and Woolworths, completing what she calls her 10,000 kilometres of brush strokes throughout her career.
Today, she shares her experience as an art tutor, where she teaches both adults and children through the Orange Art Society. She also continues to paint and exhibit her work across the region.
Fellow Orange Art Society member John Douglas said Driscoll’s contribution to the local art community is seen not only through her own work, but the work of all her students.
“Not only does she have talent, but she also has a way of spreading that talent out to others,” he said.
Her advice to fellow artists, particularly those who may be discouraged by an unsuccessful competition entry, is simple.
“Keep painting. Don’t stop,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter if anyone says you should, or if you lose or if you don’t win the first time, keep going.”
The Cabonne Acquisitive Art Prize also recognised many other artists, with Annabelle Rookyard taking first place in the Junior category for Pool Party, followed by Hudson Conroy’s Flowers in the Wind in second and William Craig’s Expression of Anger in third.
In the Senior category, Alyrah Butler won first place for First, with Andrea Marks-Green taking second for Beauty Preserved and Hailie Ross third for There’s Always Beauty in Surviving.
Sue Garside was awarded the People’s Choice prize.
Driscoll’s winning artwork Mist in the Valley took out the overall prize of $5000, and her artwork will now become part of Cabonne Council’s permanent art collection.