bluethumbart

[bluethumbart]

WIN! We've partnered with @20thcenturystudios_aunz to bring you the chance to win 10x prize packs in honour of Wes Anderson's new film The French Dispatch.⁠ ⁠ To enter and win 1 of 10 prizes:⁠ 1. Like and save this post⁠ 2. Follow both @bluethumbart and @20thcenturystudios_aunz ⁠ 3. Tag the person you'll bring along to see it!⁠ ⁠ Check back tomorrow to find out the 10 lucky winners!⁠ ⁠ Scroll left to see the prize packs, featuring a tote bag, pin badge set, desk sign, notebook and model delivery truck. Keep swiping for a few highlights from our new Inspired by Wes Anderson curation (follow the link in bio to browse it in full).⁠ ⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CXP9oy-Pbjk/

[bluethumbart]

A finalist in the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Award for the #BluethumbArtPrize2021, this piece was a favourite amongst the Bluethumb team from the get go.⁠ ⁠ The striking combination of blue, green and yellow colours combined with the intricate technicality of the strokes make this piece one of a kind.⁠ ⁠ Minyma Kutjarra (Two Women) by Julie Renita Woods of @papulankutjaartists⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CXNs52isNVz/

[bluethumbart]

And the winner of the $3,000 People's Choice Award sponsored by @fantasticframing in the #BluethumbArtPrize2021 is...⁠ ⁠ @_tomopoly with his portrait of Maddie Parry entitled 'Lensed'.⁠ ⁠ HUGE congratulations Tom!!⁠ ⁠ Swipe to see his beautiful reaction to the news 😭⁠ ⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartist https://instagr.am/p/CXK1CFkv4-X/

[bluethumbart]

"Viewed through an Australian lens, I am exploring how I recall Australia was in the time of my⁠ childhood and formative years. As I compare what I recall from my experiences, with what I see and⁠ feel in Australia today, I can’t help but feel we have lost so much of our humanity, our humility, and⁠ our identity as Australians. We have changed a lot in that time, but have we lost touch with what⁠ makes us Australian? ⁠ ⁠ "I am particularly concerned with how technology, specifically communication⁠ technology, has changed the way we think, the way we feel, and most importantly, the way we⁠ speak and act toward others"⁠ ⁠ The Party's Over by Andrew Railton⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #bluethumbphotography #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CXIseX1MFAz/

[bluethumbart]

A finalist in the #BluethumbArtPrize2021 for another year, this year the incredible @toddsimpsonart was named runner up of our inaugural sculpture award. His finalist piece Heaven and Earth is comprised of fourteen 2 dimensional paintings on clear perspex that appear solid when layered together.⁠ ⁠ "I explore the intersection of heaven and earth in this sculpture. I have used the negative space of the Cross to represent where heaven (represented by the yellow space) and earth (the blue sphere) collide and merge to become one. Heaven and Earth overlap where praise and appreciation of the works of a higher power are celebrated and bring forth fertility represented by this work in green, creating new life, hope and wonder."⁠ ⁠ Heaven and Earth by Todd Simpson⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CXGAPGEsvZB/

[bluethumbart]

The Portrait Award Runner-up sponsored by @eckersleys in our #BluethumbArtPrize2021! This portrait is of non-binary artist Tay Haggarty in a harness.⁠ Archibald favourite Kim Leutwyler has recently been exploring Queer signalling in her art and we’re here for it 😍 Tay by Kim Leutwyler @carlosbob 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CXDgiHCPnGN/

[bluethumbart]

⁠ Portrait of non-binary artist Tay Haggarty in a harness.⁠ Portrait Runner Up⁠ Tay by Kim Leutwyler @carlosbob https://instagr.am/p/CXDZu31urkF/

[bluethumbart]

Koori artist Blak Douglas’ thought-provoking piece How fast are you going now? was selected as the runner-up in the landscape category. Using a distinct visual language, he describes the work as a "parody on reality", prompting the viewer to reflect on critical societal issues such as climate inaction, politics and the treatment of Indigenous Australians. ⁠ ⁠ Art Prize judge Kathrin Longhurst commented on the powerful emotional impact of the piece, stating “Blak Douglas is one of the leading voices in contemporary Aboriginal art today. His passion for the environment and our first nations people transpires in every work he does.[…] [The works] often remind us of the graphic simplicity of political propaganda posters. His paintings plead for your attention[…]. Such an important work.”⁠ ⁠ How fast are you going now? by Blak Douglas⁠ @blakdouglas⁠ ⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CXA07-DMnHo/

[bluethumbart]

Dazzling entry Shadowbloom Series: One was inspired by artist Tania Samuel’s passion for black-and-white photography and her love for Edmund de Waal’s monochrome ceramics. Awarded as the runner-up in the Still Life category, the painting features a shadowy white bearded iris captured in the arc of movement, inviting a sense of drama. ⁠ ⁠ Judge Ken Done praised the composition, stating that “to paint these beautiful flowers in black and white shows how fabulous the shapes of the blooms are and makes a dynamic pattern across the canvas.”⁠ ⁠ Congrats to Tania! The gorgeous piece has since been sold, but viewers can check out her work below @taniasamuelstudio. ⁠ ⁠ Shadowbloom Series: One by Tania Samuel⁠ ⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CW-TkqyMGOb/

[bluethumbart]

Emerging as runner-up in the photography category, Mariner Mission is part of Andrew Rovenko’s Rocketgirl Chronicles series, conceived during Melbourne’s 6th lockdown. According to the creator, the project comprises a series of mementos for strange times – “when the big world was shut down, but many beautiful small worlds were discovered.”⁠ ⁠ Judge Kathrin Longhurst voiced her love for the project, describing the image and its strong impact. “She feels like a complete foreigner in the urban landscape protected by her space suit. The effect is twofold, it lets the viewer discover their own backyard anew through the eyes of a child, but we also feel a sense of separation from the environment through the protective layer of that space suit.”⁠ ⁠ Congratulations on your stunning entry, Andrew! ⁠ ⁠ Mariner Mission by Andrew Rovenko⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #bluethumbphotography #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CW70gCQsUoA/

[bluethumbart]

Artist Cat Wilson works with a dazzling array of digital and alternative photo media, transforming mundane objects into unexpected, sublime forms. From 2014-2017, she studied Islamic geometric design in Casablanca, Morocco, which inspired a body of work titled Casas blancas cielos azules, or white houses, blue skies.⁠ ⁠ Placing as runner-up in the digital category, Cat’s fascinating entry Abandoned on Blvd D’Anfa explores the tension between the drive for modernity and nostalgia for the past. “Taking photographs of white buildings against clear blue skies, I fragmented and mirrored them using the same principles applied in tradition Islamic design,” she explains. “The process abstracts the buildings from their original form and this new entity floats in front of blueprints of pencil-line drawings of traditional Islamic patterns.”⁠ ⁠ Abandoned on Blvd D’Anfa by Cat Wilson⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CW5NaxasmvJ/

[bluethumbart]

This striped stunner comes from Abstract Award Runner Up in the #BluethumbArtPrize2021 Stuart Cole! The piece is a massive 4.8m wide in real life, and comprises of 8 individual panels.⁠ ⁠ We love the flexibility that multiple panels give - you have the option to display the piece however you like! Whether as one whole piece and a few groupings of panels, there are no wrong answers here.⁠ ⁠ Honky Dory by Stuart Cole⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CW2ondcMIWr/

[bluethumbart]

This year we introduced a new award to the #BluethumbArtPrize2021. Founding a creative startup is all about big dreams, and facing big risks. Many artists face & embrace these on a daily basis. We’re especially proud of artists who are taking the leap from a secure job to becoming a full time artist. Bluethumb was founded for these moments. So we wanted to establish the Founder Prize for artists with large scale works and big ambitions. Not the usual art prize category but fitting for Bluethumb.⁠ ⁠ Fittingly, winner Brad Holland's response was:⁠ "It has changed my life and given me the confidence to pursue art as a career. My last day as a retail manager is Friday next week. So excited and I have ambitious plans for an exhibition." 🙌 Congratulations @bradholland72!⁠ ⁠ Buzz by Brad Holland⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CW0CG3-sl_j/

[bluethumbart]

As a new artist to Bluethumb, the winner of the sculpture award has created a work that traverses his interest in the history of ceramics, textiles and nature. Playful in manner with clay coil-building in his chosen medium of ceramics, the winner of the first ever #BluethumbArtPrize2021 Sculpture category award is @turrindesigns.⁠ ⁠ Shop now in the last few days of our collector sale! Hurry - it ends Monday 11:59pm!⁠ ⁠ Down By The River by Joseph Turrin⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CWxdUEZMPFT/

[bluethumbart]

The winning piece from our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award in the the #BluethumbArtPrize2021 features a unique view from the base of Walgun (Cape Byron) in Byron Bay. This artwork is part of Anthony Walker's Blue Space series. Superimposing traditional Aboriginal iconography over landscapes that are both familiar and distinctive, the covertly political Blue Space series welcomes viewers to look afresh at Country from a new perspective: a perspective that explicitly acknowledges 'always was, always will be' Aboriginal land.⁠ ⁠ Painted with permission on Arakwal Country, Bundjalung Nation.⁠ ⁠ Cape Byron by @anthony_walker_visuals⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CWu1FJJsdS7/

[bluethumbart]

Inspired by Macy’s Thanksgiving parade 50-foot-tall balloon of Snoopy, Digital Dogs is the winner of our inaugural Digital Art Award in the #BluethumbArtPrize2021. Congrats Brad! 👏⁠ ⁠ You can shop this piece in our Collector Sale. Hurry - it ends in just a few days.⁠ Use codes:⁠ COLLECT10 for 10% off any order⁠ COLLECT15 for 15% off any order over $1500⁠ ⁠ Digital Dogs by @robsonartist⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists https://instagr.am/p/CWsOlNKsVpP/

[bluethumbart]

"Last year during lock down I became enamoured with Dutch still life, Vanitas and Memento Mori sentiments. I dreamt of creating my own ridiculously oversized floral ode to Dutch still life. All the beautiful blooms in this picture are from the fabulous Castlemaine Floristry.⁠ ⁠ "As well as rich florals, this artwork is thick with Vanitas-style meaning. Birds in still life represent the resurrection of the soul after death. The skull of course is a reminder of our mortality, and the crown - well you can't take it with you! The unlit candle marks the passing of time, the snails remind us to slow down. Large shells symbolise lust and beauty, therefore hinting at lust as a sin and the power of temptation. Also a sign of death and frailty, as shells were often once homes for a living animal. What else can you read into the image?"⁠ ⁠ Congratulations to #BluethumbArtPrize2021 Photography Award winner @laurenstarrartist for this stunning image!⁠ ⁠ Memento Mori - Colour Flower Feast - Still Life by Lauren Starr⁠ 💙 #bluethumbartist #homeofaustralianartists ⁠ ⁠ As always, a huge thanks to our sponsors and judges:⁠ @kendonegallery⁠ @kathrinlonghurst⁠ Hubert Pareroultja of @manyhandsart⁠ @bronwynbancroft⁠ @fantasticframing⁠ @1_denison⁠ @eckersleys⁠ ⁠ https://instagr.am/p/CWptN8LsDuv/