Eight Illawarra artists are among the 55 national finalists who will compete for this year's Eutick Memorial Still Life Award.
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To be announced on November 8 during a launch at Project Contemporary Artspace, Wollongong, the award has drawn entries from around the country.
The Illawarra finalists are Gail Wistow, Leanne Harrison-Davies, Craig Handley, Lisa Fahey, John Bokor, Ahn Nguyen, Ken Finlayson and Arthur Apanski.
Still life painting emerged in Europe in the 16th Century. It traditionally involved arrangements of fruit, flowers and natural objects - dead or alive.
Founded in 2006 by Dr Mal Eutick and based in Wollongong since 2017, the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award has become a premier still life award.
This year's EMSLA competition will be judged by Jane Watters, the long-time director of SH Ervin Gallery in the historic National Trust Centre on Observatory Hill, The Rocks in Sydney.
EMSLA director Dr Leigh Summers praised the calibre of entries received this year, saying the finalists reflect the breadth of contemporary still life art.
"Our finalists have produced an incredible array of still life artworks that draw on both traditional roots and modernistic interpretations of the genre.
"Still life art has experienced a resurgence in recent years and this competition has been leading the way since it was founded in 2006."
Famous still life painters include Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol.