By arts editor HELEN MUSA

A long-running environmental art award exhibition was unveiled on Sunday at the Queanbeyan Art Society Gallery, alongside a suite of the society’s regular exhibitions.

Queanbeyan Landcare, together with the Molonglo Catchment Group, represented by program manager Jeannine Fromholtz, sponsored the Urban Rivers section, inviting artists to explore how urban life interacts with the Molonglo catchment.

On hand to announce the awards was judge Karen Williams, a prominent environmentalist, author and artist who is currently president of the Molonglo Conservation Group.

Drawing on her strong visual arts background, she gave detailed assessments of the winning entries across the exhibition’s three sections: Anything Goes, with no set theme; Blue & Orange, restricted to works featuring those two colours; and Urban Rivers.

The major prize of the day, the $400 Urban Rivers Award, went to Sophie Baker for Swanning Around, an impressionistic interpretation of Lake Ginninderra, which was designated part of the local river catchment for the purposes of the competition. The lake also featured in several other entries.

One of the exhibition’s more unusual categories, Blue & Orange, attracted an impressive range of entries. Williams praised winner Vivien Pinder’s Autumn Colours for its masterful control of colour. Another notable work in the section was Annette Schneider’s Asleep At The Wheel, depicting a certain US president more commonly associated with orange hair, though not in this case.

A special feature of the Queanbeyan Art Society’s 11 monthly exhibitions is the Member Art Profile, a mini exhibition within the exhibition highlighting the work of one society member each month. This time the featured artist was Christopher Vevers, who spoke about the inspirations behind images ranging from the landscapes of Western Australia to the streets of Zürich in the middle of the night.

The exhibition continues at the Queanbeyan Art Society Gallery, 8 Trinculo Place, Queanbeyan, until July 24.

Award winners were:

Anything Goes

• First Prize ($100): Galahs At Play by Gaye Mouat.
• Second Prize ($50): Trucking by Annette Rennie.
• Third Prize ($30): Winter Water by Roland Aronson.

Blue & Orange

• First Prize ($100): Autumn Colours by Vivien Pinder.
• Second Prize ($50): Follow The Line by Denise Moule.
• Third Prize ($30): Asleep At The Wheel by Annette Schneider.
• Highly Commended: Here I Am by Karen Hall.
• Highly Commended: Pears by Roger Nixon.

Urban Rivers

• First Prize ($400): Swanning Around by Sophie Baker.
• Second Prize ($200): Belconnen Township, Lake Ginninderra by Arlene Williams.
• Third Prize ($100): Two Worlds by Eleanor Cole.
• Highly Commended: Off To The Shops by David Smith.
• Highly Commended: Where Edges Meet by Jennine Boughton.

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