A Margaret River artist has walked away with $3000 after being declared this year’s judges choice at the Nannup Art Exhibition.
Karin Luciano has been painting for the last 15 years, choosing to enter her work into local artisan competitions to support the South West art community.
Known for her forays with texture, bright colour and metallic medium, Luciano’s work is influenced by the seasons, her landscape creations reflecting the environment she surrounds herself in.
The award winning piece was heavily inspired by the South West, with use of strong textural paint creating the image of a vineyard under the southern sun.
It all started for the artist with the cover of the Rotary telephone directory in 2000 where her work was selected to represent the region for the year.
Since then she has hosted 26 of her own exhibitions, taking up residency at Dilkes Hoffman Studio Ceramics since the Margaret River Open Studios event this year.
The use of gold leaf is a trademark for Luciano, spending a number of years perfecting her use of the medium into her textural work.
She said she enjoyed travelling to other countries and being inspired by their landscapes, something she brings home to her work in the South West.
Each piece takes Luciano four to six months to complete due to the layers and drying process involved with her creations, a number of them being made simultaneously with other paintings.
“It’s worth it in the end,” she said.
Her favourite works were always hard to part with, with Luciano finding her artistic creations reflect a spiritual experience caused by the outstanding colour and the dynamic environment around her.
Luciano’s work can be seen on display at Dilkes Hoffman Studio Ceramics with more works being unveiled for the next Open Studio event in the region.
For more information on her work visit karinluciano@westnet.com.au.
