Art prize success

Art prize success

Sydney-based artist Martin Campbell took out the ANL Maritime Art Prize at the Mission to Seafarers in Docklands last month.

Martin was announced the winner of the $15,000 prize for his painting, The Business End II, at the opening of the exhibition on October 4.

The ANL Maritime Art Prize and Exhibition has been held at the Mission to Seafarers for the past 10 years and raises money towards the provision of welfare services for seafarers.

This is the second year Martin has entered an artwork in the competition and he was surprised and elated when he learned that he had won Australia’s leading maritime art award.

“When I found out I had won, it was the best news I’d ever had,” Martin said.

Martin has been painting for 15 years and has worked as a professional artist for the past six years.

Initially a landscape artist, Martin was introduced to maritime art about six years ago when working as an artist-in-residence at the Sydney Heritage Fleet.

Martin’s prize-winning artwork is of the orange icebreaking ship Aurora Australis, which Martin said was one of his favourite ships to paint.

The painting focuses directly on the front of the ship, which breaks the ice.

Martin said the judging panel had commented that the painting responded to the exhibition theme of “the relationship between humanity and the sea” because the ship was representative ofman’s way of trying to tame the elements.

The ANL Maritime Art Prize and Exhibition has raised over $180,000 towards seafarers’ welfare services.

“Many people have shared their time and expertise to shape and grow the exhibition since 2002 and therefore have contributed to the exhibition we enjoy in 2012,” Mission to Seafarers CEO Andrea Fleming said.

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