Sydney artist Guy Maestri’s work Hill End (scibbo’s lane) was selected as the winner of the 2013 NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize, claiming the $20,000 Prize from 39 other finalists from the State’s top plein air painters.
Maestri has a strong interest in the tradition of ‘en plain air’ painting. To paint ‘en plein air’ is to paint out of doors, in direct engagement with the landscape. An age-old tradition, it is also one of the most challenging, pitting the artist against the changing lights, compositions and conditions of the great outdoors.
“Plein air painting has endured as a fundamental way of responding to, and documenting the places we are in,” said Maestri. “It remains relevant too, as the places we are in change. And in the period of intense observation that is required to make a painting en plein air, the understanding we have of a place is enhanced. In my opinion, this observation informs all subsequent painting.
“’Scibbo’s lane’ was painted in the back lane of Luke Sciberras’s house in Hill End, NSW. A place I return to often. Luke and I have made many painting trips throughout Australia in the past few years, which has been an experience that has enriched my understanding and feeling of this country.”
Hill End (scibbo’s lane) will now become part of the permanent collection of the NSW Parliament, joining previous winners of the Prize John Bokor, Isabel Gomez, Rodney Pople, Euan Macleod and Noel McKenna.
2013 NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize
NSW Parliament House, Sydney
Until May 31, 2013
Image: Guy Maestri with his winning work, Hill End (scibbo’s lane)
Photo credit: John Feder
