McLean Waterfall, Catlins by Min Kim

50 Year Splash Awards

50 Year Splash Supreme Award:
McLean Waterfall, Catlins by Min Kim

5 Merit Awards:
A Blousy Bunch by Alison Hehir
Market Street, Blenheim by Kit Ong
Scribble by Amanda Brett
Low tide, Collingwood by Colin MacLaren
Adrift, Afloat without a Boat by Jie Yi Liang

Patrons' Award:
Family business by Kira Aleksandrova
Dog owners will relate to Kira’s delightful portrait of a trio of energetic enthusiastic ‘Fur People’. This is also a very competent watercolour.

From the Judges:

It was a privilege to see so many high quality watercolours from all corners of New Zealand. Painters are coming to grips with the magic of watercolour. With such an array of good paintings to choose from it was difficult to reach a consensus, but we feel the selected winners represent a range of styles and subjects, skillfully handled.

Min Kim, McLean Falls, Catlins
An impressive piece of work. While some may take exception to the use of white paint for the falling water, we are not a pure watercolour society and this is perfectly acceptable under our rules. Min’s clever use of opaque white creates the sparkle of moving water. A challenging subject, beautifully executed with confident layering with beautiful passages of glowing transparent watercolour and vibrant darks. A worthy winner of the Supreme Award.
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Kit Ong, Market Street, Blenheim
An almost whimsical depiction by Kit of a busy street scene. Competent use of colour with simple brush strokes. A different take on a familiar Blenheim street scene, a well-composed painting: the road leads the eye towards the pedestrians and the cars, the centre of activity and interest. A high-key palette where pastel colours predominate and gives the painting an attractive decorative quality.


Alison Hehir, A Blousy Bunch
Alison must have been in a happy place when she composed this joyous colourful floral composition. A nice simple style combined with clean clear colours. A picture which will appeal even to those who are not flower painting aficionados thanks to its strong design, confident brushwork and effective use of complementary colours and wet-in-wet passages.

Jie Yi Liang, Adrift, Afloat without a Boat
JieYi’s entertaining and skilful illustration of colourful, inquisitive Gold Fish invites the viewer to speculate on the narrative. An appealing magical realist painting which makes effective use of a limited palette of complementary colours.

Amanda Brett, Scribble
It’s wonderful to see Amanda back at her imaginative stylish best. Scribble is an innovative work using a simple colour palette. Simplicity and design are the keys to the success of this quirky, minimalist painting which makes good use of interesting, rhythmical shapes.

Colin MacLaren, Low tide, Collingwood
Colin MacLaren’s Low Tide, Collingwood is a traditional watercolour of an interesting scene, incorporating effective composition and good colour harmony. Tidal scenes are always a popular painting subject. Colin’s masterly composition and sensitive colours capture the ebb and flow of a low tide.