Ocean Grove artist wins top gong at Art on the Pier exhibition

HIGHLY respected oil painter William Linford has been awarded this year’s Queenscliff Art Prize, the annual Art on the Pier exhibition’s top accolade.

More than 150 artworks were installed along the historic Queenscliff Pier for the exhibition, with prizes awarded across 11 different categories.

Linford, an Ocean Grove-based artist, is well-known for his works which celebrate Australian themes and are inspired by his lived experience.

His winning piece OCS CHAOS, a commission, depicts couta boats on the ocean and showcases his unique, recognisable style and includes several quirky details, some of which are only known to the artist and the painting’s owner.

Linford said the win came “out of the blue”.

“There’s so many different artists here that are of great note, so it’s a bit of a thrill to be acknowledged,” he said.

“I’ve tried to get the water moving at bit, and that took a lot of work, because I’ve never done water before to a great extent and I think it worked alright.

“I’m pleased with the outcome.”

Winners for this year’s various prizes were selected by a panel of eight judges, located across the country.

Exhibition curator Chris MacLeod, who is not part of the panel himself, said the judges felt Linford’s submission was a clear winner.

“It’s a lovely work. It resonated with the historical location, the history of the couta boats [and] the couta boats themselves.

“Sail boats on the water make for a lovely subject matter and William is a very fine artist.”

As part of the exhibition, an artist is also annually awarded the Borough of Queenscliffe Art Award for a submission that depicts some aspect of the borough.

This year’s recipient, local printmaker Chris Box, was recognised for his depiction of Queenscliff’s famous black lighthouse.

He said it was “nice to be rewarded for portraying a local image”.

After holidaying with his family in the area in his youth, Box retired to Queenscliff with his wife in 2014 and took up art again.

“I got back into printing again when I undertook classes at the neighbourhood house,” he said.

“The classroom has a view of the black lighthouse and that was one of the very first things I did.

“My preferred medium is linocuts, but when I decided I would do copper plate engraving, etching, that image came to mind.

“Because it’s the black lighthouse, I had to do each individual brick. I had to think about ways to introduce texture and light and so forth.

“It was quite an interesting artistic exercise, but I chose the image because it’s got that representation of my past.”

Box was also recognised in last year’s Queenscliff Art Prize with the Print Award.

The Art on the Pier exhibition will remain on display at the Queenscliff pier until the end of May.

For the full list of this year’s winners, head to the Queenscliff Art Prize Facebook page.