A decision to focus on painting strong women in a historically male dominated world has resulted in a Bermagui artist being shortlisted for a major art prize.
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Bethany Thurtell is a finalist for the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award – a $50,000 non-acquisitive prize for realistic portraiture, the winner of which will be announced on Friday.
Her selected piece is an oil painting titled Subjective, which is of her daughter Elise – a PhD candidate at the University of Wollongong.
“I want audiences to think she is a strong woman, but she is a little bit reluctant to come forward in a confident way,” Ms Thurtell said of her portrayal of Elise.
“She’s an incredibly aware young woman. She’s an incredibly loyal friend, she’s always there to support people.
“She’s an incredibly good person and I’m really proud to be her mum.”
Lately Ms Thurtell has been interested in portraying the “female gaze” in her art, aiming to encourage audiences to want to know more about the story behind the women in her artworks.
She became interested in the subject as traditionally the arts industry had not been a women’s world at all, which had only begun to change relatively recently.
“They were at home raising the kids, there was not the opportunity to be a professional painter… unless they had wealth and independence,” she said.
The exhibition will launch on Friday, October 26 at 6pm at the Bega Valley Regional Gallery, Bega.
Albert McKnight
Journalist at Bega District News.
Journalist at Bega District News.
