News

We are thrilled to announce that Sally Anderson’s work is a finalists in the Gosford Art Prize, with her work ‘November bells, BT mother, birth banksias, PP nude in a garden’.

The Gosford Art Prize will be presented at Gosford Regional Gallery and is open to all artists across Australia. It attracts entries in all mediums from traditional forms to new media artworks. The 2025 iteration is the 26th time the prize will be presented at Gosford Regional Gallery, and it continues to grow in size and popularity every year.

The finalists exhibition is on until 9 November, 2025 at Gosford Regional Gallery.

READ MORE HERE

IMAGE:
SALLY ANDERSON
‘November bells, BT mother, birth banksias, PP nude in a garden’ 2024
acrylic on polycotton,
183 x 198 cm

James Drinkwater stands out as a promising talent within the Australian art scene. Known for his dynamic paintings, Drinkwater brings an energetic approach to contemporary art that is both refreshing and impactful. His works are recognised for their vibrant colours and distinctive textures, adding layers of emotional depth and inviting viewers to explore their own responses to each piece. As a significant figure among emerging Australian artists, Drinkwater's art evokes curiosity and conversation.

In presenting his unique style, Drinkwater combines a rich palette with expressive brushwork. This combination results in paintings that feel alive with emotion, capturing stories and experiences through abstraction. His art reflects an innovative vision, turning everyday moments into powerful visual narratives. What makes his paintings especially accessible is how deeply personal yet relatable they are. He doesn’t complicate his art with technical distance. Instead, each piece draws people in, inviting interpretation and emotional response.

The Role of Colour in James Drinkwater's Work

Colour plays a central role in James Drinkwater’s artistic language. He uses it not just to fill space but to stir emotion, set the tone and ask questions. Rather than relying on defined forms, Drinkwater lets colour drive the response. His palette often feels spontaneous but is deeply considered. The placement and intensity of each hue are deliberate, sometimes loud and other times subtle, depending on the emotional pull of the piece.

Two of his paintings that showcase this are:

- A Burst of Joy: Bursting with oranges and yellows set against dusky blues, this painting conveys both high energy and quiet reflection. It feels like capturing a memory that’s bright but tinged with nostalgia.

- Melancholic Reflections: Muted greys and pale greens dominate here, creating a mood that’s softer and more introspective. It doesn’t try to explain itself but feels open to personal interpretation.

Through these works and others, Drinkwater demonstrates a strong belief in colour as emotion. He has a way of using hue and saturation to shape the mood without ever needing to define a subject clearly. That opens the door for the viewer to connect more freely. How they see the painting may depend on how they’re feeling in the moment, which is part of what gives his art depth and staying power.

Exploring Texture in Drinkwater's Paintings

James Drinkwater is known for the physicality in his work, and nothing captures that better than the textures he creates on canvas. Texture isn’t just a feature — it’s part of the emotion. His approach is tactile and highly instinctive, where movement in the application becomes part of the story. There’s no effort to hide brushstrokes, tool marks or layering. Instead, they’re central to the overall effect.

Drinkwater works quickly and with purpose, using a variety of tools like palette knives, brushes, rags and sometimes even his hands. He scrapes, builds, removes and re-applies. Paint goes on thick in one place, thin in another. And he often leaves parts of previous gestures visible under the new ones, like memories pushing up through the surface.

Here are five common ways texture shows up in his work:

1. Heavy build-ups of paint that rise off the canvas

2. Bold brushstrokes that carry the rhythm of his movement

3. Scraped-back sections that reveal earlier versions underneath

4. Contrasting materials such as charcoal or pencil for added grit

5. Abrupt changes in surface treatment to create tension

These textures do more than add visual interest. They give each work a kind of weight and presence that’s hard to ignore. It feels like you’re seeing the process as much as the result. That sense of honesty cuts through and helps viewers feel connected to the painting in a physical, hands-on way.

Influences and Inspirations

Behind Drinkwater’s creative style is a mix of personal history, Australian heritage and influences from other artists. He has spoken openly about the impact that growing up near the coast has had on his work. There’s an organic, weathered quality to many of his paintings that hints at salt air, open space and the passing of time. These aren’t literal landscapes, but the energy of place is there in the layered, shifting colours and rough surfaces.

He’s also been shaped by conversations with Australian modernists such as Albert Tucker or Sidney Nolan, whose work broke away from detailed representation to embrace mood, suggestion and national identity. Drinkwater builds on these ideas in his own way, adding intensity and immediacy through texture and scale.

Music and family life also play a role. Many of his works are inspired by moments of personal meaning — a memory, an emotion, or a fleeting idea. One painting combines aggressive reds and muted blacks to reflect what he once described as a “moment of deep personal conflict.” The raw arrangement of colours and textures creates a clash that’s hard to turn away from. You might not know exactly what it’s about, but you can feel the tension.

This blending of outside influence and internal experience makes his work feel grounded, but always driven by emotion. It reflects an artist who is willing to absorb and respond to the world around him without mimicking it.

The Impact of James Drinkwater on Contemporary Australian Art

James Drinkwater is a vital voice in contemporary Australian art. He's part of a growing group of artists who are rejecting polished realism in favour of expression, gesture and process. Rather than telling viewers what to see, he encourages them to explore what they feel.

His ability to fuse bold emotion with the memory of place gives his work an edge — something uniquely Australian, yet open to global conversations. Drinkwater’s paintings have featured alongside works by respected peers such as Sally Anderson, Vipoo Srivilasa, Miranda Skoczek, Jake Walker, Joanna Logue and Ross Laurie. Together, they represent a rich thread in modern Australian painting that values experimentation and emotional honesty.

Beyond his art, Drinkwater’s influence is felt in how he talks about making art. He’s open about the mess, the doubt, the breakthroughs — and that’s inspiring to emerging artists who might feel pressure to always be polished or conceptual. His approach suggests that real meaning can come from process, from risk, from pushing material around until it says something back to you.

In interviews and exhibitions alike, it becomes clear that he's not trying to build an image — he's trying to build a connection. That’s helped reshape how contemporary painting is seen in Australia today.

Experience James Drinkwater at Edwina Corlette Gallery

If you really want to understand James Drinkwater's work, it’s worth seeing it in person. Photos don’t do justice to the layers, the texture and the energy that comes through when you're standing in front of one of his paintings. The surfaces tell as much of a story as the image itself.

At Edwina Corlette Gallery in Brisbane, visitors have the chance to engage with Drinkwater’s art up close. Regular exhibitions feature his latest pieces either solo or alongside other contemporary Australian artists. These shows create a curated conversation between artists, allowing differences and similarities to play off each other and giving audiences a richer understanding of the broader art scene.

Whether an exhibition is focused solely on his work or thematic across multiple artists, Drinkwater’s paintings tend to stand out. Not because they’re louder, but because they feel true. They invite a longer look, or maybe even a second visit.

His paintings don’t just hang on the wall. They hold attention. They ask to be considered, not explained. And they offer something different each time you return to them. That’s part of what makes the experience so engaging for visitors and collectors alike. James Drinkwater’s work doesn’t fade into the background — it stays with you.

To explore more work that captures raw emotion through movement, colour and layered form, take a closer look at how James Drinkwater brings his creative process to life at Edwina Corlette.

We are pleased to announce that Belem Lett has been selected as a finalist in the 2025 Calleen Art Award for his work Nocturnal. The piece combines raw pigments with oil paint, layered over a rich indigo matte background, creating a striking exploration of colour, depth, and atmosphere.

The Calleen Art Award is an annual acquisitive painting prize and exhibition awarded to one, established or emerging, artist across Australia. The finalist’s exhibition will be held at Cowra Regional Art Gallery from 30 August to 5 October. Voting is open for the People’s Choice Award until the end of the exhibition.

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IMAGE:
Nocturnal 2025
oil, gesso, marble dust, pigment on aluminium composite panel
122 x 94cm

We are delighted to share that Jane Guthleben has been named a finalist in the prestigious 2025 Calleen Art Award. Presented by Cowra Regional Art Gallery, the award encourages originality, creativity and excellence in the visual arts and has been a key cultural event in regional NSW since its founding in 1977.

Guthleben’s finalist work, ‘Semi-Arid Bouquet, after the Goats’, was inspired by a recent trip through Western NSW. “We soon noticed a thriving feral goat population, and the damage they cause. They vastly outnumber wildlife and decimate native vegetation. My large-scale floral arrangements tap into the symbolism of Dutch Golden Age painting, where flora symbolises morality and the brevity of life. I imagined a large bouquet of outback flora set upon by goats – perched on every limb, consuming every petal, leaf and stem – with bare hills in the background hinting at their devastation.”

The finalists’ exhibition will be on view at Cowra Regional Art Gallery from 31 August – 5 October 2025.

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IMAGE:
Jane Guthleben at the Calleen Art Award with her painting 'Semi-Arid Bouquet, after the Goats' 2025

Congratulations to Bundit Puangthong, whose 12 metre painting commission has been unveiled at the State Library of Victoria for their exhibition 'Creative Acts' as part of Melbourne's 'Now or Never' festival.

Bundit's painting is comprised of an eight metre canvas flanked by a two metre canvas on either side, and is filled with the artists intricate motifs and patterning.

'Creative Acts' explores the stories and inspiration behind artists, writers and performers throughout their creative process. The exhibition presents rituals, connections and memories that shape creative lives, with new commissions from five Victorian artists: Peter Carey, Dr Chandrabhanu OAM, Dr Deanne Gilson, Barry William Hale and Bundit Puangthong. 'Now or Never' Festival is a curated series of artistic, cultural, and technological events in Melbourne.

IMAGE:

Visitors observing Bundit Puangthong's painting at the State Library of Victoria, courtesy State Library of Victoria.

Congratulations to Belem Lett who is a finalist in the 2025 MAC Yapang Art Prize, with his work 'Red Shift'.

This inaugural national art prize invited submissions from artists working in all disciplines across Australia. The winning artist receives an acquisitive prize of $30,000, with their work becoming part of the MAC yapang’s permanent collection.

The exhibition is open at Museum of Art and Culture, yapping, from 18 October - 7 December 2025

IMAGE:
Red Shift 2025
oil, gesso, marble dust on aluminium composite panel
150 x 122 cm

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Congratulations to Belem Lett, who has been announced as a finalist in the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize with his work 'Life Cycle'.

The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize exhibition showcases sculptural works from artists across Australia and internationally, working across a broad spectrum of materials, forms and conceptual approaches

The finalists exhibition is open at Woollahra Regional Gallery 26 September - 16 November 2025, with an artist talk 25 October.

IMAGE:
BELEM LETT
Life Cycle 2025
clear coat, acrylic, gesso, shellac, wood putty, screws, polyurethaneglue, wood glue, pine
70 x 54 x 48cm

Vipoo Srivilasa's upcoming exhibition at Edwina Corlette 'Iconic Figures: Devas, Deities and Divas' has been featured in an article for Colossal titled 'Terracotta and Gold Figures by Vipoo Srivilasa Conjure Joy and the Divine' by Grace Ebert. Colossal is an online art magazine that celebrates contemporary art and visual culture across a wide range of creative disciplines.

"Joy and the possibilities of creative communion ground the practice of Vipoo Srivilasa (previously). The artist, who lives and works between Australia and Thailand, is known for his ceramic sculptures that take an ebullient approach to life.

Standing between one and two feet tall, Srivilasa’s figures are clad in floral baubles, mandala-like motifs, and gold details, often with their fingers shaped like a V. The lively characters invoke both the mundane and the divine as they portray aspects of the spiritual world while firmly rooted on the earth."

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IMAGE:
About Colossal magazine, courtesy Colossal webpage.

Congratulations to Belem Lett whose work 'Lift Yourself Up' is a finalist in the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award.

With awards totalling $26,000 the biennial Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award showcases outstanding art created with, on or about paper. Awards include the Major award, Young and Early Career Artist Award, Friends of Hazelhurst Local Artist Award, People's Choice Award, and the Preparators Residency Award.

Belem Lett previously won the Young and Early Career Artist award in 2019.

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IMAGE:
Belem Lett
Lift Yourself Up 2024
oil, gesso on stonehenge paper 245gsm
76 x 56cm

Congratulations to Belem Lett who has been announced as a finalist in the Mosman Art Prize with his painting 'Parcel'.

As an acquisitive art award for painting, the winning artworks collected form a splendid collection of modern and contemporary Australian art, reflecting all the developments in Australian art practice since 1947. Artists who have won the Mosman Art Prize include Margaret Olley, Guy Warren, Grace Cossington Smith, Weaver Hawkins, Nancy Borlase, Lloyd Rees, Elisabeth Cummings, Adam Cullen, Michael Zavros, Natasha Walsh and Salote Tawale.

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IMAGE:
Belem Lett
Parcel 2025
oil, gesso, marble dust, pigment on aluminium composite panel
150 x 122cm