Oct 27

Local Artist Feature - Buderim's David Green, Sunshine Coast Art Prize 2021 Finalist

As the major sponsor of the National Sunshine Coast Art Prize, at the Caloundra Regional Gallery, Sunshine Coast Council, we are excited to feature and share with you our local Sunshine Coast finalists.

We spoke with local artist and finalist, David Green from Buderim.

1. What does it mean to you to be recognised as a finalist in the Sunshine Coast Art Prize 2021?

As an octogenarian there is still an immense satisfaction and pride in being selected as a finalist in one of the nation’s prestigious art prizes; and that the experiences revealed in stories of the past and the present have been recognised by one’s peers.

2. What is the meaning behind your artwork?

The latest suite based on Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations consists of four major works; of which the Sunshine Coast Art Prize finalist ‘Satis House-lies and deception’ begins the journey not just into Dickens’ characters but to satisfy my curiosity of what may have happened had the author allowed his characters to have made different decisions; after all Dickens wrote two endings to his novel. ‘Satis House-lies and deception’ had Miss Havisham not been jilted on her wedding day her life may well have been one of light and happiness with bouquets of flowers on the hall table rather than the dead flowers with snakes lurking beneath.

3. What journey has brought you here to the Sunshine Coast?

After twenty-five years as a senior academic and head of the Wagga Wagga campus of Charles Sturt University we moved from the Riverina region of NSW to Queensland in 2009 to concentrate on working in the studio. This move coincided with a major shift in my work, from predominantly embroidery stitch/ paintings to works that concentrates on drawing. Drawings, in part surrealist, using elements that are easily recognisable but are combined to create a new and different reality.

More information about David Green please visit:  https://www.usc.edu.au/art-gallery/whats-on/david-green-collecting-tomorrows-dreams     //     https://www.coolartgallery.com.au/artists-a/david-green/

Image supplied: David Green | Satis House - lies and deception | 2020 | indian ink (dip pen) and water colour on 300 gsm paper | 115 x 140cm

The other local finalists are:

-  Miles Allen from Flaxton
-  Jennifer Herd from Eumundi
-  Peter Hudson from Maleny 
-  Trevor Purvis from Cooroy
-  Amanda Shadforth from Alexandra Headland

Now in its 16th year, this significant art award is the flagship event for the Sunshine Coast’s Regional Gallery in Caloundra, attracting entries from emerging and established artists across the nation.  Congratulations to the Sunshine Coast Council, Caloundra Art Gallery and all the artists. This fabulous group of works will be showcased at an exhibition at the Caloundra Art Gallery on Friday 27 August to Sunday 10 October 2021.