When an artist takes out the top award at an art exhibition, it’s interesting to know what factors came together for the artist to reach that level of expertise.
In the case of Long Beach artist Adrienne Conway, who took out the G.J. Gardner Award for Excellence at the current CABBI 32nd Annual Art Exhibition, one only has to look over her career and marvel at the many artistic hats she has worn.
Adrienne began with studies in design, with major interests in silk screening, fabric design, mural work, ceramics and theatre and costume design. She then went on to establish a studio in Sydney designing and printing fabrics for boutique shops and fashion designers.
In 1983 she joined the Bay Theatre Players and began designing and constructing sets and made many of the costumes for their shows. In 2003, Adrienne won the Canberra Area Theatre Award (CAT) for best set design for the play “The One Day of the Year”.
She has since won many major awards across watercolour, mixed media, acrylic and inks and has attended workshops over the years to hone her skills.
In addition to teaching weekly classes in watercolour and acrylics, Adrienne is also the current President for CABBI and the Exhibition Convenor of their shows.
Her painting “Storm Burst” which won this latest prestigious award was judged by Judi Power Thomson from Canberra who said of this piece “A stunning painting capturing the essence of the south coast. I felt the coarseness and darkness of the rocks is perfectly balanced by the soft white mist of the breaking wave, slightly off centre. The building of the swell in the ocean and the rock pools with the foam are also well handled as is the dark sky of the passing storm”.
The Creative Arts Batemans Bay 32nd Annual Art and Craft Exhibition will remain open daily from 10am to 4pm until Sunday 15 January at the Batemans Bay High School, George Bass Drive, Batehaven. Cost of entry: Gold coin donation.
Above: Adrienne Conway with her award winning painting “Storm Burst”
