Poona Lake Ghosts, Vote Now

Artist: Nicole Harper
Artist Location: Gympie
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 91 x 4 x 120 cm
Artist Statement:
Poona Lake is unique perched lake in Butchulla country near Rainbow Beach. Sketching in situ, absorbing the landscape and connecting to the place, as a plein air artist, this gathering of information and feeling is the basis for undertaking this larger work in oil paint in the studio. The ghosts, or remanets, of much and many are present in this work. I acknowledge the Traditional Owners, the Butchulla, their elders past, present and future and the value this place holds for them, gathering. I remember a group of women seeking connection, with place and each other, evoking a spirit of festivity. I reflect on times I have sought solace here, found gratitude, and depart with a feeling of celebration that nature provides in being part of it, even if just for a short time. I dwell upon the future, and the achievements that will be celebrated by the next generations.

Photographer: Nicole Harper

Goes to my head, Vote Now

Artist: John Ashall
Artist Location: Townsville
Medium: Oils on board, 2021
Dimensions: 60 x 0.5 x 45 cm
Artist Statement:
At my age I like to celebrate with friends over good wine and good food.
I feel my painting reflects that mood.

Photographer: John Ashall

Going in Cycles, Vote Now

Artist: Glen Smith
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Mix Media, 2021
Dimensions: 66 x 4 x 50 cm
Artist Statement:
For me the joy I get from being involved with our art community gives me a sense of belonging and fulfilment. One of the ways I achieve this is by hosting or partaking in workshops. As a member of a local art group we come together to share ideas, food, good company, the love of art and a little gossip. Our workshops are simple affairs that all are welcome regards of skills and abilities and we get to take home a little memento of the day. In this small way we are painting a town that is inclusive, accepting, joyous and known as an artist hub. I have created this piece of mini artworks showcasing some of the many workshops I have attended or tutored, from book folding, drawing, painting, eco dying to felting just to name a few.

Photographer: Glen Smith

From the Bird Hide, Maroom, Vote Now

Artist: Zela Bissett
Artist Location: Gympie
Medium: watercolour on Arches paper, 2021
Dimensions: 48 x 1 x 53 cm
Artist Statement:
From the bird hide at Maroom, on the mainland coast of the Sandy Strait, it is possible to see large flocks of spoonbills feeding on the mudflats and it is a remarkable spectacle when they take to the sky in large flocks. This work paints the town of the Spoonbills, where they live in splendid isolation except for the little red flying foxes, with whom they share roost trees along the salty shore. This work uses wet on wet watercolour and a restrained palette as a suitable medium to paint to the subtle beauty of the biotic communities of the coastal plain. Zela Bissett was born and lived her early years on Butchulla Country along the Sandy Strait. She is endlessly fascinated by its biodiversity and seasonal visual effects. She has been drawing and painting the wildlife of the area since her early teens.

Photographer: Zela Bissett

High Tea, Vote Now

Artist: Wayne Boyle
Artist Location: Silkstone
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 61 x 4 x 61 cm
Artist Statement:
High Tea, a time to unwind, laugh, eat cake, drink tea with friends and family, forget about our troubles. We have suffered through the isolation, paper cups and takeaway. At the end of Covid lockdown Queenslanders have emerged better off than most, now we can enjoy a new normal with the freedom we have missed so much.
With bold brushstrokes I strive to capture the opulence, social engagement, the eccentric and the ordinary, flamboyant relationships, joyous occasions, outpouring of emotions, lively conversation, laughter, and tears.
Our support networks have never been more valuable, we have probably come to take for granted the simple pleasures such as getting out and sharing cake and a cuppa, enjoying each other’s company and conversation, meeting face to face, listening to the highs and lows, laughing till we cry.
Time to get out of the house, what better way to celebrate than with high tea.

Photographer: Wayne Boyle

Self-Portrait, Vote Now

Artist: Elizabeth Graetz
Artist Location: Dalby
Medium: Textile, 2020
Dimensions: 88 x 1 x 64 cm
Artist Statement:
Celebrating the colour of life- the effervescent highs and the dispiriting lows make me who I am today. Over the past few years, I have battled demons no-one else can see and still hold my head high, colouring my perspective on life. I live in a small town of limited views and understanding and look to reflect a sense that today is all we have- tomorrow is never a promise. So live in the here and now, celebrate what we have and reflect light and wonder on the world around us!

Photographer: Elizabeth Graetz

A Covid Birthday, Vote Now

Artist: Emma Thorp
Artist Location: Dundowran Beach
Medium: Digital Drawing Print, 2021
Dimensions: 70 x 0.29999999999999999 x 50 cm
Artist Statement:
During an early period of Covid lockdown, my daughter turned 11.
Unwilling to leave the house for trivial items, we ordered her gifts online and had them delivered. I did not do the careful, deliberate shopping for decorations of years gone past. What is her favourite colour? What is the best theme? These were questions I did not ask.
We still decorated for our family dinner, she had a miss matched array of plates and napkins and wrappings from past celebrations. She still had a wonderful birthday. It was actually one of the best, since during Covid we have become more aware of what is important and how much we value experiences with our loved ones.

Photographer: Emma Thorp

Out and about, Vote Now

Artist: Jennifer Wright (Summers)
Artist Location: Toowoomba
Medium: Woven Chir pine needles, cotton threads, metal ear ring, 2021
Dimensions: 20 x 17 x 17 cm
Artist Statement:
This work reflects the joy of going out on the town to connect with friends or celebrate at a festival. During the past year going out to ‘paint the town’ has become even more precious.
The base of the piece is an urn in which treasures could be placed.
The pine needles are from a heritage Chir pine planted in 1850 at the opening of the first Royal Toowoomba show. The tree stands at the entrance of much beloved Cobb & Co Museum 171 years later.
The cap of this piece is reminiscent of going on the Merry-go-round at a Show in childhood and with friends, children and grandchildren.
The coloured cotton threads were selected by a process similar to dressing up – and thinking a colour theme for an outfit or selecting ear rings that suits a mood.

Photographer: Jennifer Wright (Summers)

LET’S PAINT THE TOWN RED, Vote Now

Artist: BRUCE GRIFFITHS
Artist Location: KLEINTON
Medium: WATERCOLOUR, 2021
Dimensions: 39 x 5 x 27 cm
Artist Statement:
LET’S PAINT THE TOWN RED – 39X27 – Watercolour Bruce Griffiths
As a watercolourist, I paint traditional realism leaning towards impressionism. I paint what I see but more importantly I paint what I feel about what I see. Another detour on another journey, but I concluded that as all roads eventually head in the one far off distance, I put brush aside & sat down to ponder my contribution.
Looking upon my watercolour palette and its permanence of pigments in arrays of warm & cool it had to be an exploration of reds. With a background of wet in wet warms, I teased up paints of deferring ilk to drip off the painting but not from brushes but rather from celebratory flags. It seemed logical & the flags would drip colour like waxing apples oozing over mellow. They align but differ in their strength & vibrance. A celebration of the colour red.

Photographer: BRUCE GRIFFITHS

The Ville, Vote Now

Artist: Gabriel Smith
Artist Location: Townsville
Medium: Cold Wax and oil, 2020
Dimensions: 120 x 3 x 92 cm
Artist Statement:
I have a love for patterns, colour and how the land looks from the sky. This work explores my home of Townsville and how the built up areas interact with the wild spaces. Castle Hill has always been my special place and I wanted to explore is delicate wildness through pattern and colour juxtaposed with the more structured pattern created by our built environment to paint the town.

Photographer: Gabriel Smith

Joie de vivre, Vote Now

Artist: Kerry Wilson
Artist Location: Yandina
Medium: Mixed Media on paper, 2020
Dimensions: 61 x 0 x 45 cm
Artist Statement:
I enjoy the drama of romantic landscapes, and I enjoy mark-making.
I enjoy the calligraphic and floating perspective of Chinese landscapes.
I enjoy automatic drawing and the excitement of chance.
All of these things are distilled into my own personal iconography.
Painting helps me to understand the world, to celebrate the natural world, to see, to feel, and to live in the moment.
My aim is to invoke the spirit and feeling of the natural world.
I invite the viewer to experience and connect with the exuberant enjoyment of life.

Photographer: Kerry Wilson

A Reason to Celebrate, Vote Now

Artist: Pamela Finlay
Artist Location: Bowen
Medium: Mixed Media on Watercolour Paper, 2021
Dimensions: 56 x 2 x 76 cm
Artist Statement:
Art is a process of exploration. Today I might see something fresh and new in the landscape that I didn’t see yesterday. Every day is a reason to celebrate the diversity of what I see. Today might be windy, tomorrow may be calm and these elements can affect the natural world immensely. Leaves can be blown off trees and tomorrow sees a new cycle of growth emerging. The Scrub Almond Tree comes to mind when I think of this, the colour, size and shape of the different leaves on the same tree. The Red Tailed Cockatoos enjoy devouring fruit from this tree and set about leaving litter from their munchings on the local beachfront avenue of trees. To see them flying across the sky is a sight to behold. The ground throughout Bowen is a carpet of red leaves after their onslaught and afterwards fresh new growth of bright green leaves appear.

Photographer: Pamela Finlay

Flicker Sparkle Shimmer Glint, Vote Now

Artist: Sharon McKenzie
Artist Location: One Mile
Medium: Beading and mixed media on linen, 2021
Dimensions: 27 x 3 x 27 cm
Artist Statement:
Celebrations are precious and can happen anytime of the day or night but I always associate them with the sensory experience of light. We effectively “paint the town” with light: the flash of a phone camera, the sparkle of sequinned, beaded dresses, bags and jewellery, the flickering of candle light, small fairy lights twinkling on at tree, colored light bulbs and bright diamond like lights. The clusters of colorfully dressed people that breaks up and reforms during the festivities moving and reflecting light like water.

Photographer: Sharon McKenzie

Purlingbrook Fall, Vote Now

Artist: Paul de Zubicaray
Artist Location: Albany Creek
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 102 x 4 x 76 cm
Artist Statement:
For the inaugural Merv award I have painted a picturesque waterfall in the Gold Coast hinterland called Purlingbrook Falls. My family and I have regularly visited this peaceful and tranquil spot over the years so it has nostalgic value. As the Gold Coast is renowned for its nightlife, these days I prefer to paint the town red (and other colours) literally rather than figuratively.

Photographer: Paul de Zubicaray

The Day After, Vote Now

Artist: Kate Douglas
Artist Location: Moores Pocket
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 91 x 3.5 x 91 cm
Artist Statement:
The old Federal and City View hotels have stood on opposite corner blocks overlooking Ipswich for 114 years. These days the Federal is a pub called the Squealing Pig and the City View is used for accommodation. Ipswich is full of beautiful old architecture and living here often makes me wonder about people and events from the past. This painting is the day after an imaginary celebration from a forgotten time.

Photographer: Kate Douglas

The final meal, Vote Now

Artist: Katie Hooper
Artist Location: Tamborine Mountain
Medium: Digital photograph, 2020
Dimensions: 50 x 0.5 x 50 cm
Artist Statement:
The final meal. With friends, a lover, a community, with life.
The final meal. No matter the reason to say goodbye, it is a time to celebrate.
The final meal. A reflection of what was and is no more.
The final meal. A time to remember the laughter, the love, the learning.
The final meal. All the favourites, all at once.

Photographer: Katie Hooper

Sedimentary, Vote Now

View Digital Artwork Artist: Jason Nelson
Artist Location: Witheren
Medium: Interactive Digital Artwork, 2021
Dimensions: 80 x 10 x 120 cm
Artist Statement:
After bushfires swept through the Illinbah Valley, new layers of geology and geometry were revealed. Layers of blue-tinted rock, red volcanic soil, burned grass trees, green shooting eucalyptus, yellowed grass lining the mountain slopes. The Coomera river snaking across the landscape. And while the fires themselves were devastating to many, including those closest to us, there is a beauty in the regeneration of nature, a celebration of creatures and wildlife returning, layering the valley with newly born narratives. Sedimentary is an interactive digital artwork replicating our region’s post-bushfire landscapes. This artwork uses generative coding, and forever changing sediments of color and geometry, surfaces and lines to create a journey through our valley. To us, the notion of a “town” isn’t built from streets and houses. Instead our town is born from the soil and geology, the trees and grasses and rivers. It’s a many layered place, painted by erosion and sediment, fire and growth. The artwork is here: http://dpoetry.com/sedimentary/ Use your mouse to move and adjust and rethink the generative valley.

Photographer: Jason Nelson

Ignite, Vote Now

Artist: Michelle Kurth
Artist Location: Cooran
Medium: Plastic Food Packaging, Metal Fan Case, Cotton Warp, 2021
Dimensions: 54 x 13 x 52 cm
Artist Statement:
My memories of fun and celebration always have a brightness about them. Thoughts
re-ignited and brought back to life with feelings of joy, the images bold and full of colour.
Growing up in an English seaside resort, a special outing was often focused around the fairground. The amusement arcade with it’s coloured lights and brash signs.
The carnival that preceded it with it’s balloons, streamers and everything that sparkled.
With these events there were always treats. Food or novelties that came in bright plastic wrappers. Overwhelmed by the choice as a child, yet wanting to have it all.
In adult years the contents of the event changed. Bright colours came from lights in a nightclub, or behind the band. Later still; the observation that celebration and fun doesn’t always need to be an external source, and learning how to create that sweet sparkle within.

Photographer: Michelle Kurth

The Prose, Vote Now

Artist: Luisa Manea
Artist Location: Mount Sheridan
Medium: Clay/Pottery, 2021
Dimensions: 30 x 15 x 18 cm
Artist Statement:
The Prose is my method of turning a sculpture into a painting using paint on a 3D form. Where the person is the party and script dances all over the form, starting to document a life as they progress through ageing. We are all born as a blank canvas, no markings or history, silky smooth, sweet smelling skin made of soft rolls to cuddle, with age we start to unfurled and our skin starts to tell a story of life we lead. From the injuries, scars, piercing, and the tattoos we can’t live with out, that blank canvas starts to become our original painting. When we walk past someone we don’t know, we see a body but we don’t see the life they have live, here in my sculpture I bring the two together. “The Prose” the party of life.

Photographer: Luisa Manea

Festival Fever, Vote Now

Artist: Kym Tabulo
Artist Location: MOOLOOLAH VALLEY
Medium: Digital, 2021
Dimensions: 64 x 1 x 46 cm
Artist Statement:
Woodforida is a party town for the week-long festival, that once was and will be again. This artwork captures the energy of the celebration, which climaxes with a New Year’s Eve party. My digital collage combines photographs I took at the festival with digital drawing. I use an XP-Pen drawing tablet, Photoshop, and filters to blend several layers into a final image. The process enables me to generate art that reflects the excitement of the event in all its glorious colours, especially red.

Photographer: Kym Tabulo

Number Cakes, Vote Now

Artist: Emma Thorp
Artist Location: Dundowran Beach
Medium: Coloured Pencil over Acrylic on Paper, 2021
Dimensions: 69 x 0.29999999999999999 x 47 cm
Artist Statement:
I love to make cards and cakes for my children on their birthdays. Nothing too tricky, I am no great baker. The kids tell me what colour and flavour they would like and are often involved in the decoration. This image shows an assortment of the cakes I have made for my children over the years. Because my son was born very prematurely, I made him a zero cake on the day he should have been born and went on from there. Some were for my son, some were for my daughter. The last ones were almost identical once they realised that chocolate cake is the best type of cake. They don’t much care for the number cakes anymore, but I miss them. It is so much easier to identify how old they were in old birthday photos!

Photographer: Emma Thorp

Golden Days, Vote Now

Artist: Kym Tabulo
Artist Location: MOOLOOLAH VALLEY
Medium: Mixed, 2021
Dimensions: 11.699999999999999 x 2 x 16.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Celebrating a family birthday with a day at the beach is simply perfect. Especially when it ends in beachcombing at sunset on Bulcock Beach with a Golden Beach skyline. It is a special place where the land meets the sea, and the buildings frame the vista. To create this artwork, I blend my abstract watercolour painting with my photographs and digital drawing techniques. This process allows me to express the theme of a delightful, calm celebration that creates long lasting memories.

Photographer: Kym Tabulo

Pandanas Curtain, Vote Now

Artist: Lyn Laver-Ahmat
Artist Location: Mackay
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, 2020
Dimensions: 90 x 4 x 120 cm
Artist Statement:
I made this painting after drawing the Pandanus Grove up at Slade Point where I live. I had attempted it many times, and disliked the heavy forms, I used colour to get a feeling for the quiet coolness and breeze of the beautiful morning and the gentle noise of the waving Pandanus fronds, to look through them like a curtain to the sea below and beyond.

Photographer: Lyn Laver-Ahmat

Portrait Of An Artist, Vote Now

Artist: Grant Quinn
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Photography, 2021
Dimensions: 50 x 1 x 70 cm
Artist Statement:
As a photographer, I am inspired by the power that photographs hold. I take pleasure in knowing my images invite you to be immersed in what I felt at a particular moment in time. Photography being the true form of social documentation is crucial in providing viewers with meaning of the cultures in which we live, and without this social documentation, we are left with only the spoken and written word, and these two forms of communication alone can not provide us with the full knowledge of the society in which we exist. By capturing Ipswich based artist Jil Nugent, in serene contemplation of what’s next, visualising her passion for colour, and celebrating her love of art through her paintings of local historical buildings and the Urban Landscape, including St Mary’s church and the Ipswich Railway Workshops, allows me share with the viewer a glimpse of her journey. Jil’s artistic accolades include work being commissioned and exhibited throughout Australia and evokes her spirit for celebration of all things iconic. Now residing in Regional SE QLD, Jil is still producing art and painting the town she so proudly now calls home.

Photographer: Grant Quinn

Liberation, Vote Now

Artist: Liz Celegato
Artist Location: Eatons Hill
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, 2020
Dimensions: 91 x 4 x 91 cm
Artist Statement:
As an artist, utilising bright, exciting colours definately evoke feelings within me of enjoyment, euphoria, contentment, optimism, and celebration. They often conjure a sense of pure and utmost joy! I have attempted to combine free flowing bright colour along with stylised, patterned birds in order to seek the true meaning of the title of this work, ‘Liberation’. Liberation is the action of setting someone or something free – it is a release – and that is what I felt when I created this artwork during this new era of Covid. Our modern world, right now, can often feel so negative, strange and daunting but we all need to keep the positivity happening. Everyone should be encouraged to ‘paint the town’……however they see fit. To live in the moment and appreciate the good things that life still has to offer. To be reminded of feelings of happiness, joy & contentment. To feel liberated and to be thankful…..

Photographer: Liz Celegato

Hiraeth, Vote Now

Artist: Bernadine Anning
Artist Location: Nanum
Medium: Mixed media Acrylic and oil, 2021
Dimensions: 90 x 2 x 90 cm
Artist Statement:
Hiraeth is Welsh for a spiritual longing for a home which maybe never was. Nostalgia for ancient places to which we cannot return. This work explores the magic and longing for a natural landscape that we should exist. We cannot return to this place and therefore deep nostalgia is prominent in our dreams.

Photographer: Bernadine Anning

Fa La La La, La La La La, Vote Now

Artist: Kym Tabulo
Artist Location: MOOLOOLAH VALLEY
Medium: Digital Photograph, 2021
Dimensions: 16.5 x 2 x 11.699999999999999 cm
Artist Statement:
It’s the season to be jolly, and the decorations are ready to deck the halls. Boughs of holly, Tiggers, stars and feathers will festoon the house, and the Christmas tree will be laden with gifts. Our Christmas is always a family event full of laughter and love. With the focus on Tigger’s nose and then the explosion of colours and textures, I took this photograph because it represents the fun and joy generated every year.

Photographer: Kym Tabulo

Eungella, Vote Now

Artist: Janet Ambrose
Artist Location: Eungella
Medium: Oil on Canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 90 x 4 x 90 cm
Artist Statement:
This landscape is of Eungella. The view is of the mountain above Pioneer Valley. We are confronted with deep forests to the valley floor. The structural energy of the mountain gives movement as the valley below winds its way to the coast.
There is harmony in the irregularities of twists and turns that we see, the forest is poised and alive with inhabitants calling this the largest sub-tropical. It is my intention to reflect the rawness of this landscape. Broad brush strokes dominate in this work to give the landscape a strong sense of character and strength.

Photographer: Janet Ambrose

Unabashed Bliss, Vote Now

Artist: Josie Bennett
Artist Location: Mount Coolum
Medium: Archival ink on 300gsm cotton rag, 2021
Dimensions: 20.32 x 0 x 30.48 cm
Artist Statement:
Children remind us of the exquisiteness of every moment, and a playful readiness for anything allows us to feel the joy of such moments and celebrate them entirely.
While walking with a friend and her daughter, I managed to capture her daughter in a moment of unabashed bliss. After the two of them had spent the day apart, they were thrilled to be in each other’s presence once again. Their satisfaction and happiness were palpable and contagious.
Despite familiarity with the subject, my approach was similar to that of street photography in that it was an unplanned, quick response to a candid moment.
This photo serves as a reminder to be playful, to ‘Paint the Town’ and celebrate life’s joyful moments, both big and small.

Photographer: Josie Bennett

Be Alright, Vote Now

Artist: Benitta Harding
Artist Location: Goodna
Medium: Pastel on Paper, 2021
Dimensions: 40 x 0 x 30 cm
Artist Statement:
“Be Alright” captures getting lost in the moment without any thoughts to either the past or future. It’s being in that beautiful headspace that makes you feel like everything will be alright.
As an artist I work in isolation so for me to Paint the Town is responding to the experience of isolation and how we express our creativity during these time in our own way… It getting lost in the moment while creating – that moment which is free from judgment, criticism or fear of what others might think.

Photographer: Benitta Harding

Seeds of creativity, Vote Now

Artist: Shelley Pisani
Artist Location: Avenell Heights
Medium: gel plate printing, screen printing, hand stitching, acrylic and gold leaf on paper, 2021
Dimensions: 56 x 0 x 38 cm
Artist Statement:
Over the last 2 years I have been delivering a project across Central Queensland that has been building the capacity of visual artists, encouraging new ways of thinking. As I travelled for this project I saw the seed pods of the Illawarra Flame Tree regularly and to me it became a symbol of the fertile collaborations being created. I started drawing the pods in March 2020 at a residency near Baralaba and have continued to explore their shapes through printmaking.
As this project nears its end, I have been reflecting on the joy that the moments of seeing artists thrive has given me. The 7 seed pods represent the 7 regions in Central Queensland where I have been working. They are stitched together embodying the bonds created between artists and regions. Glints of golden moments that have seeded new work, new collaborations and inspiration – a cause for celebration.

Photographer: Shelley Pisani

Underground Creek, Girraween, Vote Now

Artist: Zela Bissett
Artist Location: Gympie
Medium: watercolour on Arches paper, 2020
Dimensions: 30 x 1 x 40 cm
Artist Statement:
The rugged rocky outcrops of Girraween National Park are a continual source of inspiration. Painting the town is not easy in out in nature, but every rocky outcrop and hidden spring is the home of many creatures, all of which exist and thrive far from the eyes of humans. They live in biotic communities which are suitably represented by the liquid flow of watercolour.

Photographer: Zela Bissett

To the Citizens of Paradise, Vote Now

View Digital Artwork Artist: Bianca Tainsh
Artist Location: WEYBA DOWNS
Medium: Digital print on Hahnemühle Bamboo paper, graphite, frame made from sustainable timber, wood chips from land cleared for a shopping mall expansion, online video 1:46min., 2021
Dimensions: 65 x 3.5 x 58 cm
Artist Statement:
With a practice grounded in social change, open-disciplinary artist Bianca Tainsh generates spaces for reflection on social dilemma, with suggestive cues to self-evolve. Her work To the Citizens of Paradise was conceptualised as a response to the exodus of urban inhabitants to idyllic rural locations, in the wake of COVID-19. As towns swell, commercial development is accelerated. And this multidimensional work is an entreaty to these new neighbours to discard urban penchants for convenient consumerism and celebrate a life elevated by locality – our beautiful biosphere and village culture. As a development of her own recent return to ‘paradise’ Tainsh’s more current works seek to reframe the magnificence of the wilderness. At the same time, she avoids romantic and empirical approaches, and comes from a place where primal connections become fundamental for the individual to identify with our true nature, as part of the whole.

Photographer: Bianca Tainsh

Music to the ears, Vote Now

Artist: Katherine Civil
Artist Location: Toowoomba
Medium: watercolour on paper, 2021
Dimensions: 42 x 0.10000000000000001 x 30 cm
Artist Statement:
With music in the background, the subtle tones in this painting, bely the celebration happening
without. In the night air, the notes float and and dance to the rhythm of the occasion. It is a joyous
sound that brings delight to all who hear and celebrate. The character is the pied piper and he
belts out a merry tune. Come dance and sing with me, the colours echo

Photographer: Katherine Civil

Sandbeach songlines, Vote Now

Artist: Samantha Hobson
Artist Location: Lockhart River
Medium: acrylic on canvas, 2020
Dimensions: 61 x 3 x 106 cm
Artist Statement:
Songline’ is a term that is often used to define relationships between stories, ceremony and sacred sites; the knowledge that is passed down through oral tradition, song, dance and more recently, fine art painting. Sharing these stories brings the community together in celebration.
‘Sandbeach Songlines’ captures a contemplative mood. For Samantha, this begins with a creamy white background representing the pristine sands of the Great Barrier Reef, north of Lockhart River where the artist lives. Fractured lines bleed into this tranquil background. The artist often reflects how such opposing forces echo her own turbulent life, delicately balanced between a sense of apprehension and acceptance. ‘Sandbeach Songlines’ is a gestural landscape which epitomises the inseparable dualities of land and sea, culture and identity, time and healing.

Photographer: Mick Richards

Only Pink in Here! (2021), Vote Now

Artist: Lee Fullarton and Sue Hammond
Artist Location: Ipswich
Medium: Photographic Print, 2021
Dimensions: 29 x 5 x 30 cm
Artist Statement:
Through their collaboration FullARTon and Hammond intentionally wander into the narratives of the creative, mythical and adventurous woman. Together they create the work as an installation searching iconic Queensland environments and moments, detailing costumes and evoking the mood of the space. In Only Pink in Here! FullARTon and Hammond capture the preparation for Painting the Town Pink! Beauty is always at the forefront of their making; they explore and play – and Hammond captures ‘that’ moment through the eye of the lens.

Photographer: Lee Fullarton

A Woman’s Work Is Never Done, Vote Now

Artist: Laurie McLeod
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Digital created image on Paper or screen, 2021
Dimensions: 39 x 2 x 66 cm
Artist Statement:
Pick yourself up, put yourself together and start over again. In a dystopian world, many feel discarded. No longer competent. Their former beliefs are no longer useful. Only hope reignites former talents in new ways and the struggle to survive begins again. The recovery road can be barren, but small joys bring delight. As the spiritual path and friends provide sustenance a true reason to celebrate a better triumphant life presents itself.

Photographer: Laurie McLeod

A Gentle Sway, Vote Now

Artist: Nicole Jakins
Artist Location: Glenwood
Medium: Stoneware clay, brass, eucalypt pigment, 2021
Dimensions: 50 x 21 x 93 cm
Artist Statement:
The winter light filters through the wattle as they sway gently in the breeze. Cradled in between soft mountain peaks, their blooms slowly turn into a burnt golden hue as the sun lowers in the sky. I breath in the rich, heady scents of the bush, listening to the slow-flowing trickle of tannin stained water as it meanders around me.
This is how I celebrate life – by switching off and quietly reflecting on the incredible diversity of the surrounding environment, and observing the flow of things. A simple, solitary act that fills my cup so profoundly that I am completely restored, feeling blessed that I have been able to share this celebratory moment with nature itself.

Photographer: Nicole Jakins

Sanctuary, Vote Now

Artist: Ann Russell
Artist Location: Cashmere
Medium: Mixed Media Assemblage, 2021
Dimensions: 30 x 45 x 45 cm
Artist Statement:
Celebration for me happens with and in nature. It is also the reason for celebration, especially when I have encounters like the one that inspired this work, where I came across a nesting swamp hen in the middle of a suburban lagoon. The lagoon is surrounded by houses, but the trees around the lagoon create a quiet sanctuary, within the busyness of suburban life. The work features a sanctuary for the swamp hen’s nest made by ‘painting the town’ on an outer wall, and the trees within. The work is presented in a glass cake dome – cakes are associated with celebration.

Photographer: Ann Russell

Gunna Need A Bigger Brush, Vote Now

Artist: Grant Quinn
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Photography, 2021
Dimensions: 50 x 1 x 70 cm
Artist Statement:
When you respect and preserve a towns history, you are preserving and respecting it’s personality, the very thing that gives it character, and brings new residents and new life. When most people think of preserving history, they envision painting the town, restoring old buildings and historical sites, and beautifying our urban landscape. But preserving the history of our town is so much more. Preserving our history has many benefits, from improving economy to becoming more environmentally conscious. Having pride and celebrating where we come from, improves connection to community, to neighbours, and a strong community makes for a strong town. Historic preservation is proven to provide jobs and increase tourism. Our history is the heart and soul of our town, and it is vital to our future success that we work to protect it and with preservation comes rejuvenation. In our beautiful town, our history has been our heartbeat, and we need to continue to work tirelessly to respect our town’s history and continue to work to embrace it.

Photographer: Grant Quinn

Celebrate the World, Vote Now

Artist: Rachel Wolfe
Artist Location: Cairns
Medium: Watercolour, collage and thread on paper, 2021
Dimensions: 76 x 0.10000000000000001 x 56 cm
Artist Statement:
I am an emerging artist in Far North Qld. ‘Celebrate the World’ is my response to the question – How do you celebrate? This artwork is a portrait of my fiancé and his younger sister as children who remain best friends to this day. Together they have supported each other through life and have had many adventures travelling the world together. In this artwork I wanted to celebrate their relationship, their determination to live life to the fullest and their continuing love of travelling. Every day is a celebration for this brother and sister travelling through life together.

Photographer: Rachel Wolfe

I Bring You Gifts, Vote Now

Artist: Maharlina Gorospe-Lockie
Artist Location: Palm Cove
Medium: Acrylic and oil pastel on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 88.599999999999994 x 3.5 x 48.600000000000001 cm
Artist Statement:
Maharlina Gorospe-Lockie’s work expresses the beauty of landscape while exploring tensions between stasis and change, nostalgia and threat, celebration and despoilment. “I Bring You Gifts” invites the viewer to immerse themselves in water, forest and sky, to find their own sense of scale, time, and joy.

Photographer: Daniela Vavrova

Bushwalk, Vote Now

Artist: Jasna Spiranovic
Artist Location: Hollywell
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 93 x 4 x 77 cm
Artist Statement:
I celebrate the little things in life by going for walks in nature.
This painting depicts a walk I did one morning where I felt I was walking in clouds one moment and then the forest the next moments. These Spaces of nature not only calm my mind but make me feel appreciate nature .

Photographer: Jasna Spiranovic

Birthday fun at St Helens Beach, Vote Now

Artist: Charlene Attard
Artist Location: Mackay North
Medium: Collograph print on watercolour paper, 2021
Dimensions: 62 x 0.29999999999999999 x 42 cm
Artist Statement:
To say that my daughter loves the beach would be an understatement; in her eyes, a family celebration coupled with a beautiful beach on a sunny day; nothing beats this in North Queensland. Digitally capturing this moment becomes a fond bitter-sweet memory that resembles but can never be as true as it was; removed from time and place. Traditionally printed, the artwork itself becomes a memory of the collograph plate, nostalgically rustic and appealing of times past. Precious moments such as my daughter’s 4th birthday though fondly remembered, capturing the experience is elusive – the created image will always be a memory of a time that can never be again.

Photographer: Charlene Attard

Garden celebration, Vote Now

Artist: Ilona Demecs
Artist Location: Imbil
Medium: Handwoven tapestry, 2021
Dimensions: 56 x 1.5 x 68 cm
Artist Statement:
Through the notion of going around the weft with coloured wool, this work honours the craft of tapestry weaving both as a technique as well as an expression. Exploring the possibilities of painting with wool, I crafted a picture that captures a celebration of the land which nurtures us with its prospects in the Mary Valley. The renaissance tapestry design frames the image with a native passionfruit vine border and invites the viewer to come to the party and enjoy the celebration.

Photographer: Fine-line Photography Fine-line Photography

medicinae crescente de terra I (medicine growing from our earth I), Vote Now

Artist: Cara-Ann Simpson
Artist Location: Haden
Medium: ink infused metal, 2021
Dimensions: 76.200000000000003 x 0.5 x 76.200000000000003 cm
Artist Statement:
medicinae crescente de terra I’ celebrates returning to my heart’s home: the joy, fulfilment and healing nature of place. Here I am grounded, deeply connected to the earth and sky.
The specimen is gumbi gumbi (Pittosporum angustifolium) from my family’s farm located on the lands of the Jarowair people of the Wakka Wakka nation. Gumbi gumbi is a beautiful weeping tree – lyrical, medicinal and a peacock within the bush.
In the title, seen within the image as a spectrograph (soundwave), I remind myself that all medicine comes from our earth in some form or another. This work is part of “Furari Flores” (Stealing Flowers) is a vanitas series of one-on-one plant interviews. The titles are spoken in Latin and translated into spectrographs. There is an irony of speaking a dead language to plucked flowers/fruits, now also dying, and leaving only the visual representation, the movement of sound left behind.

Photographer: Cara-Ann Simpson

Celebrating at Sunset, Vote Now

Artist: Debbie Chilton
Artist Location: North Ipswich
Medium: 3D Artbook / Watercolour, 2021
Dimensions: 10 x 1 x 64 cm
Artist Statement:
My idea of celebrating is to indulge in natural beauty. And what is more beautiful than the picture the sunset paints across the sky? The scenic rim is just a short drive from my hometown of Ipswich. Hot air balloon flights over the scenic rim may be booked to celebrate special events such as engagements, wedding, anniversaries, and birthdays. My artwork Celebrating at Sunset takes audiences on this magical journey.

Photographer: Debbie Chilton

Jumping for Joy, Vote Now

Artist: Jenny Neubecker
Artist Location: Waterloo
Medium: Pencil and graphite on paper, 2021
Dimensions: 41 x 2 x 58 cm
Artist Statement:
No matter the weather or time of day, our working dogs jump for joy when they are released from their pens. Sometimes that’s for work or sometimes just for play; either way their joyful enthusiasm is contagious. Whatever my days’ circumstances or the mood I might be in they bring instant joy and pleasure. Without any worries about the past or anxiety about the future they live completely in the present and celebrate in leaps and bounds without a hint of self-consciousness. Being with them when they play, or work the cows, brings joy to my soul and reminds me to enjoy and to celebrate the small pleasures of life.

Photographer: Jenny Neubecker

Celebration of colour, Vote Now

Artist: Jeanie MacNamara
Artist Location: Benaraby
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 60 x 3.2999999999999998 x 80 cm
Artist Statement:
Border closures, lock-downs and social distancing were terms found in science fiction novels until COVID hit. My joy until then was to go out into this beautiful world that we share and paint it in all its glory, especially when I was able to do so with my friend Gayle – another passionate artist, who showed me the joy of painting landscapes. To my delight, in between lockdowns, my friend and I stole an afternoon at Newstead House when the Poincianna trees were in riotous flower. While this painting most certainly celebrates the vivid colours of the river and the trees, what it celebrates more is the time I managed to spend with Gayle. When artists come together to paint the wonders of this glorious land, either in silent contemplation or joyous laughter, the world is a better place.

Photographer: Jeanie MacNamara

River Town, Vote Now

Artist: Kylie Stevens
Artist Location: Pine Mountain
Medium: Bremer River water, copper leaf, charcoal, earth and acrylic paint on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 92 x 3.5 x 92 cm
Artist Statement:
River Town is a celebration of my hometown and the river it is built around. Creating artworks is how I celebrate, in River Town I have I have painted the town, by incorporating the major streets and bridges into the work, and by celebrating my town in paint.
River water thins my paint, allowing it to pool and travel across the canvas. With the addition of hand ground ochres and charcoal the canvas is marked; then, I map the river in copper leaf. Using the natural elements of river water and earth, the work contains the essence of the place it represents.
I am an Ipswich-based artist working with and within the environment. It is my aim to showcase the beauty and alchemy of nature, inspiring in the viewer a deeper respect for and desire to protect our precious natural spaces.

Photographer: Kylie Stevens

A Nature in the Self., Vote Now

Artist: Julia Skye Higgs
Artist Location: Bowen
Medium: Canvas Print, 2021
Dimensions: 30 x 5 x 100 cm
Artist Statement:
This work is a series of puppets and body extensions that evoke the spirit of celebration through colour and self-expression as sculptural forms on the body. 9 people stand in one frame, each wearing a different body piece. Each of these are different from the other and express aspects of a bush turkey, a pet dog, and human elements in both recognisable and abstracted ways through their disproportions, amalgamation of human and animal and use of colour. They are bright and bold and combine papier-mache, wire, recycling, acrylic paint, and second-hand fabrics to create a series that celebrates and evokes play, the body, and self-expression by recreating and altering familiar forms into vibrant wearable art.

Photographer: Brooke Miles

Mardi Gras, Vote Now

Artist: Richard Ranson
Artist Location: Charleville
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 76 x 4 x 76 cm
Artist Statement:
Mardi Gras. In your face, loud, confronting, and oh so good. It is the perfect vehicle for painting the town red!
For me, whether it’s Sydney or Rio de Janeiro, the essence is the same. A relentless underlying beat that carries performers high on a wave of emotion and excitement.
I am drawn to the way a Mardi Gras is not about one person. It’s a living writhing thing, moving through the crowds like a serpent or a Chinese dragon. I have tried to reflect this with performers painted in the minimalist style.

Photographer: Richard Ranson

You Beauty!, Vote Now

Artist: Gail Meyer
Artist Location: FRENCHVILLE
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 40 x 1 x 40 cm
Artist Statement:
You Beauty !
Hoo roo to the big dry. Send her down Hughie! Farmers, graziers, gemstone fossickers and country folk alike toss away their laid back manner and feel uplifted and celebrate the arrival of the rain with a huge shindig or maybe a private celebration.
Rock up, raise a glass, have a cold one.
Here is the rain, the refreshment to the land; seeds sprouting, crops growing, wild flowers exploding, and gem stones gleaming on the wet ground. The big wet.
Party time, true gold, good times – time to paint the town!
Woop it up, acknowlegde and honour the good times.

Photographer: Gail Meyer

Come Share my Moon with Me, Vote Now

Artist: Lindsay-Jane Conroy
Artist Location: Maroochydore
Medium: Acrylic and pen, 2020
Dimensions: 46 x 2.5 x 61 cm
Artist Statement:
Statement by Lindsay-Jane Conroy
Title: Come Share my Moon with Me
“Come Share my Moon with Me” is a fun quirky look at the little bird called the “Egret” which are often seen following cattle around the paddocks. The work is full of playful things such as houses nestled in a large tree and a magical moon peeking through in which the Egret ask his loved ones to come share his moon. It is just a imaginary take the essence of painting the town can be the Joy of simple things that can give an explosion of happiness when sharing something special with others.
My inspiration of art comes from both farm and family coastal lifestyle which have given me a broad gathering of inspiration. With the last drought of 7 years on our farm followed by the hit, to the family Sunshine coast business, like so many with the arrival of Covid19. It has been important to keep a light hearted attitude to my work. As such I have taken a non-tradition approach to my work being drawn to fantasy with a touch of quirk hoping to leave the viewer with a light-hearted feeling.

Photographer: Lindsay-Jane Conroy

Birthday celebration of 2021, Vote Now

Artist: Tarja Ahokas
Artist Location: Ninderry
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 30.5 x 3.7000000000000002 x 25 cm
Artist Statement:
I celebrate my Birthday each year by producing an Artwork.
I like to be inspired by something I see or experience that day usually by going on a day trip somewhere.
This year due to the lockdown I went to the far corner or our 8000m2 property and pulled out lot of weeds in the pouring rain. I could have danced in the rain but the ground was too muddy and soft, so I let the weeds dance on my canvas instead.
This was the way I “painted the town”…celebrating those weeds that inspired me.

Photographer: Tarja Ahokas

Reconnected To The Self and The Ancestors Through The Act of Washing My Body, Vote Now

Artist: Sammaneh Pourshafighi
Artist Location: Hollywell
Medium: Digital photograph on archival paper, 2021
Dimensions: 120 x 4 x 85 cm
Artist Statement:
My family and I came to Australia as refugees from Iran. As part of a diaspora, I am constantly trying to find a place as a queer, Muslim and Persian person living on unceded, stolen, indigenous land. For as many moments of struggle that exist in this experience, there are moments of joy, quiet introspection and pride. The Covid-19 pandemic has added more layers of complexity to my experience especially around the importance of nurturing and maintaining connections to my social communities, cultural background, traditional rituals, and my family both living and ancestral.
This photograph was taken in my parents’ Gold Coast garden after being reunited with them. Covid-19 restrictions had prevented me seeing them in over 6 months. My mother and her sister are wearing traditional Persian garments and ritualistically washing my body in an Islamic style. The ritual was equal parts celebration, act of love, and spiritual cleansing.

Photographer: Sammaneh Pourshafighi

PAINT IT YOURS, Vote Now

Artist: Jodi Bowen
Artist Location: Ipswich
Medium: FREE-STANDING CERAMIC- hand built and painted with 18 carat gold detail. Works are finished with either a gloss or matte finish, 2021
Dimensions: 40 x 20 x 20 cm
Artist Statement:
Everyone likes to celebrate differently. Whether it’s partying, picnicking or a pot of tea- celebration is a personal experience. PAINT IT YOURS invites the viewer to make their own experience. You mix and match from the following ‘pots of colour’ to design your own celebration.

‘Paint it red colour pot’ : champagne, a new party dress, heels, handbag, some long lashes, sparkly jewellery and a red lippy (followed by a taxi home and a few Panadol before bed)
‘Paint it yellow colour pot’ : a day at the beach, a picnic, a sun-bath, a ball game and a spot of surfing
‘Paint it blue colour pot : ’ a cosy night in, a good read, a pot of tea and a comfortable chair or bed.
Select your options from the 20 available and add to the ‘Paint it Yours’ pot to create your ultimate personal celebratory experience.
THIS WORK IS MADE UP OF 4 ‘POTS’ AND 20 OPTIONS. ALL PIECES ARE HAND BUILT AND PAINTED CERAMICS- SOME WITH 18 CARAT DETAIL. The second photo is an example of the options available.

Photographer: Jodi Bowen

Sunday Morning, Vote Now

Artist: Eva Fritz
Artist Location: Sadliers Crossing
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 100 x 1 x 120 cm
Artist Statement:
For myself, ‘Paint the Town’ holds similarities and differences post 2020. Similarities are things like waking up with the sweet evidence of the night before: my discarded clothes and paraphernalia from the evening, and the still-lurking adrenaline from the fond memories of the places I have gone and the people I have been with. Sitting on the edge of my bed the morning after and relishing the recall of the experiences, however simple or subjectively grandiose they were, can often be as rewarding and fulfilling as the night itself. Differences is there is often a whole new sense of organisation and restriction that accompanies these nights, as suggested by the Check in Qld App. Reflecting this is the juxtaposition of spontaneity of brushstrokes and abandonment of objects in this piece with the harsh lines and flat tones of the mobile device.

Photographer: Eva Fritz

Family Colour, Vote Now

Artist: Tricia Reust
Artist Location: Clontarf
Medium: Mixed Media on Canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 76 x 3 x 76 cm
Artist Statement:
Artist Statement – Tricia Reust
FAMILY COLOUR
Mixed Media on Canvas
76 sq cms
Joy and undaunted application abound every time we create together – how better to celebrate being an artist than to share art with my grandchildren? They bring me closer to the primary reasons I draw each day.
Here, a portrait of Nanna (me!), a portrait of Rudolph and an ice cream melting in the sun – all gifts – are collaged around my jar drawing, full to the brim with rediscovery of my life work.
When we make art together we “paint the town” in family colour.

Photographer: mark Lutz

Pathways of joy, Vote Now

Artist: Anitha Menon
Artist Location: Rockhampton
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 40 x 1 x 30 cm
Artist Statement:
This year the art of celebrating has come with quiet gratitude, reflection and fleeting memories of loved ones stuck in a different time zone. Sitting in my cosy home I adore the precious ring on my fingers and feel the safety of the place I’m living in. Waiting for more colours to fill my senses, I celebrate the joy of life in the mundane coziness of my house.
Sometimes inanimate objects speak through their silence. They can be symbols of a cultural past or moments of a time or sometimes, a realisation for me that time has stood still without progress. My identity as a homemaker, my house and the objects associated with it have been a major influence in my art so far. I am drawn towards symbolism and concepts and find textures fascinating to paint.

Photographer: Anitha Menon

LCS.2, Vote Now

Artist: Petalia Humphreys
Artist Location: Peregian Beach
Medium: Acrylic on plywood, 2021
Dimensions: 90 x 5 x 90 cm
Artist Statement:
I revel and indulge in the act of looking at and exploring architecture.
“LCS.2” is a celebration of architecture, and of colour. What is at once a sunburnt roofline sitting beneath a glorious and intense ocean sky is also a homage to Johannes Itten’s formulaic ratios and fields of colour. A window of white creates a void – a respite – from the hazy midday heat.
Pushed into the corner the square folds into its rigid setting whilst the works manifests itself in a space beyond its physicality. The folded painting discloses contrasts and dichotomies, exploring ideas of playfulness and interplay – mapping both movement and stillness. Although hard-edge and geometric the work reveals itself and the inherent gestural traces left from the painting process. Marking an interplay between site and possible pathways, lines and spaces upon the surface shift, crease, flatten and straighten out and then fold again as the viewer passes by.

Photographer: Petalia Humphreys

Meet Lenny, Vote Now

Artist: Suzanne Furness
Artist Location: MONS
Medium: Handwoven with wool and silk, 2020
Dimensions: 120 x 0.59999999999999998 x 72.5 cm
Artist Statement:
I’d like you to meet Lenny. During the day he is Leonard, a CEO wearing a full business suit and highly polished brogues for his ZOOM meetings. At night he transforms into Lenny – freewheeling and colourful.
This weaving was my response to the dismal news cycles about Covid 19

Photographer: Suzanne Furness

Happiness, Vote Now

Artist: Vicki Buttrose
Artist Location: Warwick
Medium: Acrylic, 2021
Dimensions: 40 x 3 x 50 cm
Artist Statement:
Using colour rather than painting the town, I have painted the emotion you feel when you celebrate. The happy glow with bubbles of excitement and whisps of freedom that you experience in those moments of elation and celebration.

Photographer: Vicki Buttrose

Abuzz, Vote Now

Artist: Jasna Spiranovic
Artist Location: Hollywell
Medium: Acrylic and oil on canvas, 2020
Dimensions: 90 x 2 x 70 cm
Artist Statement:
Where I have my art studio the village becomes “Abuzz” each year for weeks before the annual Music Festival.
This painting depicts the energy
Before the festival in the community combining all sounds of nature and everyday life before the musicians and crowds enter the space.

Photographer: Jasna Spiranovic

David Invited a Few Friends Over (after lockdown ended), Vote Now

Artist: Marlies Oakley
Artist Location: BUNDABERG
Medium: 3D Hancut Collage, 2020
Dimensions: 82 x 4 x 62 cm
Artist Statement:
How we dream of flying to Europe to party with our overseas friends and families, but we know the reality. Parties and celebrations have been planned, rearranged and cancelled, all at short notice. Social responsibility is the mantra of the new normal, as we try to do the right thing, with its confusing and sometimes conflicting messages.
It started as a quite get together as David invited a few of his fellow artistic friends over (after lockdown had ended of course), but things got a bit out of hand when JD was invited, which was hardly a big surprise.
You can see for yourself where it ended up, but I guess these things can happen to those who have remained still and silent for a few hundred years.
I just hope we’re free again soon and David invites us to his next “get together”.

Photographer: Marlies Oakley

Flying Art, Vote Now

Artist: Christa Coetzee
Artist Location: Clear Mountain
Medium: Mixed Media on Paper, 2021
Dimensions: 87 x 0.20000000000000001 x 64 cm
Artist Statement:
Flying Art
Imagine innocent youth. Combined with silver strands of wisdom.
Flying with whimsical wings of freedom, fuelled with flawless wisdom,
through time on a pendulum suspended from a universe filled with
1010010011101110011000’s and you are one block in the chain…
Knowing nothing yet everything.
In this virtual ‘apple’ world of songs yet to be ‘sung’

Photographer: Christa Coetzee

TOWN AND COUNTRY, Vote Now

Artist: Brian Hatch
Artist Location: Cleveland
Medium: OIL on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 76 x 4 x 100 cm
Artist Statement:
The theme ‘Paint the Town’ leaves an artist with many options. My interpretation is to do just that, namely paint a town as perched on a hill in the countryside using a contemporary approach. The blocks of colour represent shops and buildings stretched along a ridge with fields suggested by the larger yellow shapes below. The theme suggests painting the town red but instead I painted what can be interpreted as sky in orange/red to indicate the heat of an Australian summer.
The painting had three stages. Firstly blocking in the shapes of the town, then altering the colours to free up the image. The last stage was to modify the colours by scumbling lighter tones over the previous colours to unify the whole painting. The under painting was blocked in using acrylics and then overpainting with oils to secure a more intense paint effect.
This then is my version of “Paint the Town”.

Photographer: Brian Hatch

Sundae Night, Vote Now

Artist: Charlotte Wensley
Artist Location: Peregian Beach
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 76 x 4 x 76 cm
Artist Statement:
We ‘paint the town’ with a family tradition that can be traced back to my childhood; a time when growing up on farming country left little time for celebrations and visiting the ice cream parlour in town was a grand and poignant affair. This ‘treat’ inheritance lives on today as part of our family’s story about how we celebrate special occasions. Gatherings big or small, loud or quiet, with friends or kith and kin, our festivities are incomplete without ice cream sundaes, crafted with care and ceremony. ‘Sundae Night’ is inspired by our familial devotion to all things sweet and sugary. In this painting I wanted to convey a sense of layers of indulgence and the feeling of gravitas evoked by special celebratory moments. This humble confection, dolloped, drizzled and steeped in family folklore, symbolises abundance, joy in our togetherness, gratitude for family and sweet moments in time.

Photographer: mark Lutz

Gateway, Vote Now

Artist: Kym Barrett
Artist Location: Chatsworth
Medium: oils, mixed media on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 120 x 4 x 120 cm
Artist Statement:
I’m not a party girl. Never have been. What makes me feel most alive and uplifted is the simplicity of being in Nature, alone. No painting the town red for me.
I live in open hilly bushland beside a rainforested creek. That fact is cause for daily celebration, and especially during Covid 19 restrictions, it was a source of emotional and spiritual sustenance.
GATEWAY emerged as an abstract expression of the animating and sustaining life-force that flows at my place, and in all of Nature. In all our busyness and distractions, it is a reminder of our need to connect with and celebrate the green places. When we pay attention, listen and just be there, it can be a portal to slowing down, breathing deeply and feeling joy. Our hard edges soften and our difficulties subside.

Photographer: Kym Barrett

Jimmy and Denis – its in his jeans., Vote Now

Artist: Melaine Doheny
Artist Location: Blackbutt North
Medium: Photographic work, 2021
Dimensions: 45 x 3 x 30 cm
Artist Statement:
Isolation, long work days, climate change and globalization are just some of the many pressures that make farming a vulnerable occupation in addition to stock gates.
There is a bond that is made through the love of horses that can be a way of connecting members of community who otherwise would not meet through social events, meetings or networking programs.
From as far back as the human memory reaches, people and horses have always had a special relationship. People form an inexplicable bond with their horses, built on trust, loyalty and love.
Dennis is a paint horse. Jimmy is the custodian of Dennis – or is it the other way around.

Photographer: Melaine Doheny

At the Oak, Vote Now

Artist: Ela Bozek
Artist Location: Healy
Medium: Acrylics on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 77 x 4 x 102 cm
Artist Statement:
The first beats of live music starts the evening at the Oak. Undeniably, there would be no celebration without it. Everyone in the room waited the whole week to come here to the dancefloor. Familiar and unfamiliar faces smile to each other. It always helps to look at that joy.
Visiting the Oak made me feel like me, back home.

Photographer: Ela Bozek

The Eye of The Heart, Vote Now

Artist: India Collins
Artist Location: Edge Hill
Medium: Textiles new and recycled, PVC, 2021
Dimensions: 120 x 5 x 105 cm
Artist Statement:
The Eye of The Heart
This woven work speaks to the notion that we must learn to see, think and speak from our heart.
This work is a celebration of letting go, following our dreams, believing in ourselves, taking care of our bodies, learning to say NO when it feels right, learning to say YES even when we’re fearful, questioning our self- doubt and reveling in the knowledge that if we live intuitively, we can achieve a more spiritually fulfilled life. There should be nothing stopping us from reaching our full potential and embarking on a path towards self- actualization. Go for Gold.

Photographer: India Collins

Inside Adventure 1, Vote Now

Artist: Kym Barrett
Artist Location: Chatsworth
Medium: oils and cold wax medium on board, 2021
Dimensions: 55 x 4 x 55 cm
Artist Statement:
INSIDE ADVENTURE emerged organically out of the painting process of building up and breaking down layers using oils, oilsticks and other drawing media. It was an exciting adventure, (a celebration even!) with rapid gestural mark-making, quick paint applications.
Not the usual way a person might celebrate but during Covid 19 restrictions in 2020, the studio solitude was the perfect place to have fun!
I’m not a party girl. Never have been. No painting the town red for me!
This work can be seen as an internal landscape, while tethered to memories of my creek at the bottom of my property, where I regularly sit and draw. That I can do this, is cause for daily gratitude and honouring.
My abstract vocabulary of colour, texture and mark expresses my lively connection to place, as well as a traversing of the mysterious, ambiguous terrain in the process of both painting and living.

Photographer: Kym Barrett

Painting Aaron, Vote Now

Artist: Catherine Boreham
Artist Location: Yeppoon
Medium: Acrylic and Oils, 2020
Dimensions: 120 x 5 x 77 cm
Artist Statement:
Whilst getting to know Aaron in the last few years I reaslised he gives everything 100% effort. Much later I discovered that his skill set includes actor, writer, director and he has performed in numerous Australian and American stage and screen productions. Aaron is a graduate of QUT’s Acting Strand and some of his roles were in sea Patrol, Harrow and Hobson’s Choice just to name a few.
He wrote, produced, directed and starred in an Australian film Talking Back at Thunder. His outstanding achievements go further than I have space to mention here.
In this portrait there are no balloons, no confetti, no festivities. There is however, a lot of quiet gratitude, reflection and sentiment.
For me painitng a portrait is a joyous activity and a special opportunity that has the potential of bringing a whole community together to celebrate alongside me. It may be an achivement, or a person’s admirable character, a life that was well lived, or a life full of generosity, but also the forgotten, or the poorly esteemed.
In an age that vaidates fame, fortune and followers, what a blessing it is to bring people together, to “paint the town with the colours of an “ordinary, or an “extrordinary” person’s life. Not always necessarily for what they have done, but for who they are.

Photographer: Catherine Boreham

West, Vote Now

View Digital Artwork Artist: Renee Yates
Artist Location: East Ipswich
Medium: Mixed media animation, 2021
Dimensions: 0 x 0 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
West is a moving-image landscape that captures a familiar scene west of the city: the coal trains rumbling through the Queensland countryside as an afternoon storm rolls in down the range. As an artist who works in the Lockyer Valley, I see coal trains as both living relics exisiting on borrowed time and as a symbol of Queensland’s city-country connection. This connection is evident with the economic function of the coal industry (mining in Western Queensland provides city workers and the economy with the expendable income that allows them to figuratively “paint the town”) and with the juxtaposition of the colourful stylised urban street art that adorns the trains with the natural palette of the countryside. West was created with mixed media craft processes (graphite drawings and painted paper collage) that were digitised and brought to life with animation and audio field recordings and footage.

Photographer: Renee Yates

Maleny, Vote Now

Artist: Sophie Thyer
Artist Location: Caloundra
Medium: Watercolour and Gouache, 2021
Dimensions: 30 x 1 x 45 cm
Artist Statement:
My family and I relocated to Sunshine Coast during the Covid-19 pandemic period. Lockdowns and snap border closures mean that we needed to stay local and appreciate everyday life without travelling overseas, or even interstate. I was inspired to paint this work to capture a glimpse of natural beauty in my town. I can’t help but wonder, why is nature so therapeutic? Beaches, Hinterland, mountains, and subtropical rainforest- Thank you. You have made my memory during the pandemic much more beautiful!

Photographer: Sophie Thyer

My Big Red Heart, Vote Now

Artist: Sandra Ross
Artist Location: Gympie
Medium: Mixed Media, 2021
Dimensions: 80 x 0.20000000000000001 x 108 cm
Artist Statement:
I immediately thought of ‘red’, “painting the town RED”. A celebration of love. Our love for each other, our love for those who are no longer with us and the love for those important to us – whether that’s from a distance or together.
My work uses the beauty of the natural world as a springboard for expressing loss, loss of loved ones and loss of our environment.
When I begin the work, I use a large brush on a long stick and watery ink with the work on the floor. Like tears, it drips and flows. I think about how I celebrate those who have gone before me and the marks that are left in my heart.
Turning inwards, I listen closely, feel blessed and celebrate those around me and the love we all share.

Photographer: Sandra Ross

Tree Poem – II, Vote Now

Artist: Katie Harris-MacLeod
Artist Location: Diddillibah
Medium: Bloodwood Tree Sap on 300gsm Watercolour Paper., 2021
Dimensions: 76 x 0 x 56 cm
Artist Statement:
Tree Poem – II is one of a series of works from an on-going project entitled, Sap Works.
Sap Works is an intimate study of the interwoven connectivities between bodies of trees and human beings, specifically the female body.
This work intricately studies Bloodwood trees and the sap that they excrete by mapping
stressed Bloodwood trees across the Sunshine Coast region and stress within my own body.
These ‘stress exchanges’ become a series of intimate durational and ritualistic performances, derived from my ancestral lineage to Celtic/ Gaelic culture, landscape and language. Enigmatic sap pigment drawings are captured on
tra handmade paper, a poetic exchange between body and tree.
Ogham, is the ancient Celtic language of the trees, and it is this ancestral knowledge that has been the conduit connecting me to this landscape.
Sap Worksis a process of re-connecting and understanding. Cross cultural narratives give meaning to my transitory belonging.

Photographer: Katie Harris-MacLeod

Scared, Vote Now

Artist: Donna Glass
Artist Location: Bunya Mountains
Medium: Digital Print In Frame, 2020
Dimensions: 100 x 25 x 100 cm
Artist Statement:
Scared Of What You Don’t Show Me.
Our Universe is Made Up Of 25 percent Dark Matter 70 percent Dark Energy And The Rest Is Normal Matter And A small
Percentage If this is Us.
We Are So Small Yet So Important To The Stream Of Things.

Photographer: Donna Glass

Palette-able, Vote Now

Artist: Warren Richardson
Artist Location: Kuranda
Medium: Photograph, 2021
Dimensions: 38 x 3 x 60 cm
Artist Statement:
I live in the rainforest in Kuranda. On the morning side of the mountain. 90% of my palette is green in all of its variability. However, I have travelled all over tropical Queensland with my entomological mate, photographing the night life of the insect world. One of my favourite locations is Talaroo station, now being developed as a hot springs tourist destination by the Ewamian native-title holders. Not only are the insects great but the sunsets over the dam are to-dye-for. Here the palette holds all the colours of the spectrum to ‘Paint the Town’ with tranquility and reflection. Truly Palette-able.

Photographer: Warren Richardson

Topography, Vote Now

Artist: Barbara Pierce
Artist Location: Townsville
Medium: acrylic & collage on canvas, 2021
Dimensions: 76 x 3.5 x 91 cm
Artist Statement:
A celebration can be described – and shaped – by its’ location in the landscape. The landscape where I live has been the inspiration for this painting. Collage and acrylic paint have been used to make reference to a hillside – its’ rocks and pathways – and a celebration at day’s end as night falls.
Every day I connect with the surrounding environment and notice the changes – subtle or dramatic – depending on the time of day, the season or whatever is happening at the time. All sensory stimuli have an effect or leave an impression. Every day I quietly celebrate ‘my’ landscape.
In this painting I have reinterpreted the landscape surroundings and played with the idea of the possible appearance of a celebration at day’s end in the imagined topography of this environment. Every celebration – like every day – is unique. A celebration takes on a life and shape of it’s own.

Photographer: Ed Pierce