Blackheath’s Robert Malherbe is delighted his work on Govetts Leap has been celebrated in the Wynne Prize and said he could “happily paint this view for the rest of my life”.
“It’s wonderful being selected again, this is now (I think) my eighth time in the Wynne prize and the excitement is still there.”
The artist said he never tires of Govetts Leap.
“Why do I love painting Govetts Leap? There is so much going on in that view, it constantly changes through out the day and then you get the shift of colours with each season.
“Add to that the fact that every day you are a different person, so really I could happily paint this view for the rest of my life.”
Malherbe moved with his wife to the Mountains 20 years ago to start a family.
“We have not regretted it. We chose Blackheath simply because for us it was the loveliest town.”
Malherbe has been selected before for a Govetts Leap work in the Wynne. He paints there regularly, especially at his favourite time – 3pm.
“With every landscape I paint I try to capture the feelings I receive from what I’m seeing.
“With Govetts Leap the feeling I get is usually one of euphoria mixed with an unexplainable longing.”
He has been entering the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes since 2010.
Malherbe’s show Raw Instinct is at the James Makin Gallery in Collingwood.
“It opened just before the lockdown so the gallery had to cancel the opening. Hopefully Melbourne will reopen soon and people will have a chance to see it.”
The Wynne Prize is awarded annually for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best figure sculpture.
This year’s winner is Nyapanyapa Yunupingu, for Garak – night sky which represents Djulpan, the Seven Sisters star clusters that are also known as Pleiades.
Advertisement
Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.
We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.
Advertisement