A landscape by the internationally acclaimed artist John McCartin on exhibition at the Morpeth Gallery has been selected from thousands of entries as the winner of a prestigious US arts prize.
McCartin has been recognised in 114 international awards since 2011, but in the tradition of the art brut painters and outsiders of the Art Nouveau era from which McCartin takes his impressionist inspiration, he came to the canvas late in life.
He has been painting since he was 19 but did not take it as a profession until he was in his mid-40s after years spent in public service. He began his practice in Bathurst, where he first became aware of the Morpeth Gallery, and once accepted there said he would stay with them as long as he could.
"It was a very long and convoluted road," he said over the phone from his home in South Australia late last week. "Painting was always a hobby, but I went into sign writing for a number of years and sort of got sidetracked. I started painting full-time when I was 47, which is bit late, but in Australia it is very hard to make a living particularly in a traditional field. A lot of work in Australia now is contemporary."
As his burgeoning career developed, McCartin turned further afield, establishing himself in art prizes around the globe for his soft and romanticised landscapes that borrow from the schools of impressionism and realism.
He said his work was about evoking more than could be captured in a photograph; stretching the limits of colour and tone to capture not just the objects of his subject matter, but also the mood and texture.
"You're trying to imitate light," he said, "You can't produce light on a canvas, but you can produce the impression of light, giving people a feeling of actually being there."
Photography, even though it has become ubiquitous in our lives for capturing moments, compresses colour and tone, McCartin said, whereas traditional art expands the range to include more than a simple reproduction.
The artist's piece, Sunshine and Mist, which was on exhibition at Morpeth Gallery until it was purchased earlier this year, was selected from thousands of entries from as many as 79 countries in the World Art Awards as the winner in the landscape category.
McCartin also picked up six other nods from eight works entered to the annual award, which celebrate the best in landscape painting internationally, also took out the category for floral realism with a still life titles Carnations and Cherub.
The World Landscape Art Awards Advisory Board selects 20 prestigious galleries and museums throughout the world to cast their votes for first through to sixth place in each of fifty painting categories.
"Landscape is arguably the most enduringly popular type of painting and for centuries, artists have been inspired, compelled, and commissioned to paint the world around them," the Morpeth Gallery, the only establishment in Australia where McCartin's original work is available for sale, said in a statement.
"Some landscapes are purely imaginary creations, while others are factual records of specific places, but all can be enjoyed for their escapist pleasure."
