Easter art show levels up

THE Bendigo Easter Art Show came to an end on Tuesday with a celebratory lunch for the organisers and those lucky enough to purchase a piece coming in to collect their newest artwork.

Program chair Graeme Clarke said the show was a success and tracked well with previous years.

“It went pretty well,” he said. “Just over 800 works of art were presented, and we sold just over twenty percent of those, which is roughly what we generally sell.

“It wasn’t a record as such, but it was still a great figure and the raffle went really well and the entry figure was very good.”

Mr Clarke said the quality of the work really stood out.

“The comment we were receiving though was the quality of the artwork had gone up another level this year,” he said.

“That comment was made both by the artists and the public coming in. When the artists are saying ‘Hey, if I want to sell, I need to lift my game,’ that’s a really great thing to hear.”

The rise in the quality of the artwork was reflected in the sales prices.

“The value of paintings this year was high, we sold a number of paintings in the $2000 to $3000 price range, which is very nice to see,” he said.

It was an especially successful show for one artist in particular.

“Col Brown, who was our artist in residence, sold three pieces in the show and eight from his stand,” Mr Clarke said. “The piece given away in the raffle was also donated by him.

“We had two other artists who sold three of the four works they presented, and they were kind enough to donate their fourth for our auctions.”

Mr Clarke said he is looking forward to another great show in 2024, with plenty more sales.

“We have a lot of art come in,” he said. “But we see a lot go out as well.”