Watercolour New Zealand's annual Online Watercolour Competition, sponsored by
Gordon Harris Ltd
, aims to celebrate and reward excellence and originality in the medium of watercolour.
The winners for the Gordon Harris Winter Online Competition have been announced.
Halo of Light
Svetlana Orinko
Judges Comment:
The judges loved the emphasis on the glowing hair and the fact that all else is in shadow. A sensitive and evocative portrait.
Artist's Comment:
This painting was inspired by a fleeting, intimate moment — a young girl
standing quietly in a field, gently bathed in golden light. I chose a
complementary palette of purples and golds to create a visual harmony between
light and shadow. Halo of Light is a celebration of quiet beauty — of moments
that pass quickly but leave a lasting impression. It invites the viewer to pause
and feel the subtle glow of light within the landscape and within ourselves.
James's view, High Peak Station
Anna Guild
Judges Comment:
A very well produced winter landscape with just the right amount of detail. It’s impactful and makes you feel you are there.
Artist's Comment:
The inspiration for my painting is the view from a very special place on our property at High Peak Station, Windwhistle, South Island.
My late husband James Guild, died nearly a year ago and I wanted to paint a view that he loved, and where we will have a large rock and
plaque to remember him.
On this particular day, I loved the intense cobalt blue of the snow shadows, contrasting with the pure white of the snow, and our beautiful
red tussocks, and then the deep, dark lake reflections. I left a lot of white paper and tried to stop the painting before I overworked it....
so easy for me to do!
Thank you so much Watercolour New Zealand and Gordon Harris for the opportunity to enter the competition and win a lovely prize.
Oshoro pots
Charlotte Hird
Judges Comment:
The group of pots are very well rendered and are balanced by the tortured branches. A nice study.
Artist's Comment:
This painting evolved from a 20 minute sketch in my travel journal done during a visit to Yoshikazu Takada’s
pottery studio in Oshoro, Hokkaido. The pots in the entrance caught my eye and while my friends shopped I
drank green tea from a tiny cup and painted the scene.
Then back in New Zealand, looking for an idea for the next lesson I took the sketch and made a larger painting. The earthy tones of the pots
required a limited palette of raw and burnt sienna with ultramarine to darken. It was exciting to see my two classes successfully build form
in the pots and catch the light.
