WINNERS OF PLANTAGENET ART PRIZES

Thumbnails of the winners:

Overall winner was Marjan Bakhtiarikish with The Wanderer (Graphite on paper). Marjan is an Australian of Persian origin. She studied Art and loved the classical Renaissance masters and their techniques. This led her to travel to Florence and study at the various academies there. Albany resident, Ron Baker had the same passions and also went to Florence to study. The two met and the rest is history…and the beginning of them both teaching classical art techniques in Albany. To win with a drawing is very special to Marjan, as drawing is the foundation to all classical art. She uses models to draw from real life and by interacting with the model feels better able to convey their persona. For this artwork her husband Ron sat for her and she is portraying him as a wanderer, a traveller of the Earth… a wise man. Overall this fabulous piece represents over 40 hours of work to achieve this level of realistic detail combined with its story-telling.

Category 1: Oil or Acrylic painting winner was Albany artist, Lee Garvey with Self Portrait. Lee’s work explores the landscape of faces, etched with lines which whispers of lives lived fully. Since a very early age she’s been passionate about art, inspired by her grandmother’s creativity and her mother’s illustrations of children’s stories. Lee is a longstanding member of Albany Art Group. Her Self Portrait, inspired by a pose of the Ecstasy of St Theresa symbolises her journey through life, accepting her past, the lines on her face a celebration of experience and wisdom and with her eyes set on what experiences which still lies ahead. Showing as women we evolve, endure and exhilarate. In April 2026 she will hold her first her first solo exhibition at Vancouver Art Centre, which will see Lee explore themes of resilience, transformation and the beauty of imperfection.

Category 2: Works on Paper winner was local artist, Andy Dolphin with; On the Bibbulmun. Andy has a creative background as a sign writer, leading to work in the advertising sector and then media production. Oil painting was his original art medium of choice but a few years ago he turned towards water colour. The inspiration for this painting was actually revisiting a motif which Andy painted 20 years ago in oil. Andy had a ‘Karri-period’, when he painted lots of landscapes around Pemberton, from which he had many fond memories as a favoured camping place and also his honeymoon location. He says he really enjoyed capturing these majestic trees, but this time in his new favourite medium and he was very pleased with the result. Next on Andy’s calendar is a trip to Canberra for the inaugural Capital Plein Air event, best wishes, Andy.

Bendigo Youth Award (age 16-25) winner was Kamryn Sheppard and the Mitchell House Arts Centre Junior Youth Award (10-15) went to Evelina Tincu. Being under 18 years, they were not interviewed, though very warmly congratulated.

Category 3: Mixed Media winner was Albany artist, Helen Marshall with; Earth, Sea and Sky as well as Category 4: Textiles winner with; Granny’s Garden. Helen started her artistic pursuit midlife and is self-taught. As a former teacher she applauds the inclusion of Youth Awards and when she was teaching she incorporated art into many learning areas. She started painting in 1995 but has always been keen to explore new mediums, so mixed media is something that naturally aligns to her. Her main passion though, is textiles. She uses free motion machine stitching and fabric. Her Granny’s Garden is actually inspired by her own garden and the joy it brings her grandchildren. Some of the flowers were actually made from one of her mother’s dresses, making this art-work incorporate that thread that links generations together – beautiful.

Category 5: Sculpture winner was Adrienne Quenby with; Extinguish. The inspiration comes from the silo-art movement which Adrienne has condensed into a manageable size but also added poignant symbolism by her use of a recycled fire extinguisher to paint a rural bush fire scene. She wishes to draw attention to rural fires in low population areas, which receives little media recognition, which are largely dependent on volunteer fire fighters leaving their families, work and businesses to safeguard and  support their communities and neighbours in need. This being her way of paying tribute to the community spirit which holds rural places together. Adrienne has always been into art and studied at TAFE. She creates as a way of processing her experiences and feelings and is influenced by her surroundings.

Category 6: Functional Design winner was Melissa Butcher with; Monty. Melissa has been a working artist all her life since completing her Visual Arts Degree at Curtin University. Much of her work has involved performance arts, sculpture and photography and relating to body image and the politics of the body. She started pottery when she was offered a role at teaching art at Albany Prison. These days she lives on a carbon farm in Cranbrook, which forms part of the Gondwana Link Project and Monty is inspired by the returning flora and fauna as the land regenerates. As a fellow potter I have seen this amazing ceramic feat evolve over months and months, there is such depth of exquisite detail, it’s simply mind-blowing. To sum up, Melissa’s work always have a deeper message and with Monty it’s environmental.

After 10 days, the public’s votes decided The People’s Choice Award which was won by Heather Roberts with; Cheynes II Stranded, beautifully portraying the aging ship stranded, yet caressed by the sea, echoing the bygone whaling era.

Congratulations goes to all winners, participants and Mitchell House members. Thanks to all who visited or supported in any capacity. These events take a lot of work to orchestrate, but an exhibition displaying art of this fabulous quality is fantastic and shines the spotlight on our town and art scene. Well done all!

Åsa Björk-Henderson Photo credit and orginal article from Barker Art Scene