The Custodian: Anne Davie OAM - Framed - Finalist, Portia Geach Memorial Award

'The Custodian' is a portrait of Anne Davie, a renowned Phillip Island identity who was awarded an OAM for her service to the Gippsland community - including her support for the arts.  I first met Anne when she attended a creative writing class I was teaching in Cowes, Phillip Island in the 1980s.  I have since worked with her on various local committees.  We were both thrilled when the painting was chosen as a finalist in the  Portia Geach Memorial Award in 2017 and we both attended the opening at the S H Ervin Gallery in Sydney.  The portrait later won the Best Portrait award at an Artists Society of Phillip Island Exhibition.

I have attempted to show the subject's determination and custodial role by placing her overseeing the landscape - the historical Cowes jetty. The painting is acrylic on canvas and is framed in natural wood.

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A three time Bluethumb Art Prize finalist, I have devoted most of my time to painting since my retirement. After losing confidence at art teacher training college, I didn't paint for 40 years. I left secondary school teaching to pursue my interest in writing and literature, gained a PhD in English and ended up teaching Media and Communications at university. Early in my retirement, my watercolour tutor renewed my confidence and I rediscovered my love of painting. I returned to acrylics and began exhibiting my work in 2009, soon developing a distinctive hard edge painting style incorporating vibrant colour, minimalism and elements of abstraction.

My formative influences include the Post Impressionists such as Gauguin; the simplicity and bold design of Japanese woodcuts and the organic, flowing line of Art Nouveau. My first job in a sign factory may have also influenced my painting style. A more recent inspiration is the work of the renowned Australian artist Jeffrey Smart. My subject matter includes portraits, sea/land and cityscapes. My current work is primarily dedicated to iconic Melbourne landmarks including the Eureka Tower, Skipping Girl Vinegar sign, Luna Park and the 'Cheese Stick'. The migration series which I began in 2015, was inspired by my parents' stories concerning our migration to Australia by sea in the 1950s and was developed in response to the ANL Maritime Award theme 'Humanity's Relationship with the Sea'.

After winning a number of awards in Gippsland and Melbourne exhibitions, I began entering national award exhibitions and have been selected as a finalist in some of these, including the Portia Geach Memorial Award (2017) and the ANL Maritime Award (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021). I have held two successful solo exhibitions in Melbourne in 2024 and 2025 and have exhibited at the Melbourne Affordable Art Fair 2023-2025. My work is held in collections in Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. I am represented by Sol Gallery, Fitzroy.

My most recent work is based on high quality fine linen. These paintings are of a higher price than those on canvas. My paintings generally have 3 cm edges which are painted, so framing is not required unless you choose this option.