The Molonglo Catchment Group Art Competition is now an annual fixture on the QAS calendar for over the past decade and this time attracted around 100 entries in acrylics, oil, pastels, watercolour and other media.

Karen Williams, president of the Molonglo Catchment Group, who spoke about the local catchment area, devised the theme for this year: “Molonglo Water: The Juice of Life. Getting it, keeping it. Then and Now”.

She also acted as judge for the 2018 competition, announcing Leigh Murray’s pastel work, “Water Storage – Now and Then”, as ‘”Best in Show”, with a prize of $500.

Dr Williams commented: “The use of pastel is reminiscent of the Heidelberg school and the typical landscape of that era. The modern day water tank, by contrast, is of more a contemporary genre. The frame, the bold composition, and assemblage of different aspects of focus just works. The sheen of frame works well against the hue and contrived glow of the modern water tank. The holes in the tank provide windows to the past and between different approaches to storing water.”

Molonglo Catchment Group Art Competition, in Queanbeyan Art Society’s gallery, 6 Trinculo Place Queanbeyan until the end of June, all welcome.