'Rewarding and revealing'

Gallery

GEORGE NEWS - The South Cape Association for Visual Arts competition, Visual Expressions, was a huge success. It was presented in association with George Museum.

The winners in the various categories are:

Landscape: Marnitz Steyn's Great Brak. It took six months to paint, using only five colours, blending them together to get the richness portrayed here.

Portraits: Neeske Alexander's Engaged. Neeske is getting lots of attention nationwide, winning competitions and getting exposure in art magazines, etc.

Wildlife/Animal: Erica van Zyl of Knysna won with a charming small rural painting titled Silver Linings.

Abstract: Jacques de Bruyn with his large painting titled The Boxer.

Floral/Still Life: Anthea-Ann Jennings with First in Line. The judges were Hein Botha, Tim Kirby and Sue Kemp. Botha said judging this year's entries was both rewarding and revealing.

"It is clearly evident that this annual regional event is increasingly attracting talent and attention year on year. The number of entries and diversity of submitted work bears testimony to the enthusiasm with which the art community in our beautiful part of the country is embracing this meaningful event.

"It is worth noting that the winning entries in each category illustrate wonderful diversity in approach, interpretation and portrayal of subject matter.

Photo gallery: SCAVA winners announced

"This clearly underpins the fact that mark making and painting should never be judged or evaluated purely by fixed formulas and inflexible criteria. Neither should scale, degree of realism, pure technique or trend relevance alone, override innovation and refreshed interpretations, in judging works of art.

Norman Christians with his 'Mother and Child'.

"With this view in mind, the winning entries have purposefully been hung together in the Art Gallery in the George Museum, by category, to illustrate the degree of diversity and innovative approach in painting each of the subjects.

"You will be rewarded by immersing yourself in intimate small works painted with heartfelt passion as well as works that confront your senses by their size and presence, or provoke through abstraction. We invite the public to come and experience this renewal of vision and revitalised sensibility with us."

Sixty-nine artists entered 229 works.

The judges of the 'Visual Expressions' competition, from left: Hein Botha, Sue Kemp and Tim Kirby.