This is our Annual Awards Art Exhibition and will be held in the Tramshed Hall, Narrabeen, 1395a Pittwater Road, Narrabeen.

‍Doors will open for viewing and sales on Thursday 2 October.

The Presentation of Awards will take place on Friday 3 October from 6pm to 8pm, when drinks will be served. The Awards will be presented by Northern Beaches Mayor, Sue Heins on Friday 3 October 2025.

Our judges, this year, will be Stephanie Galloway Brown, who loves to use oil paint for it’s rich, tactile and forgiving qualities.  She is well known for her portraiture, having been selected for the Archibald, Portia Geach and other exhibitions.  However, she also paints landscapes, still life and waterscapes, with the same eye for detail as seen in her portraits.

And Ben Waters is known for his distinctive abstract and graphic style,captures the sweeping landscapes of Pittwater and their ethereal tangle of eucalypts. As a longtime surfer who grew up in the Pittwater area, he has a deep connection to this landscape.  He describes painting as a way to express the feelings that emerge from his encounters with nature.

The entry to view the exhibition is FREE and all artworks will be for sale.

‍

PLEASE BOOK & PAY BY 19 SEPTEMBER 2025

9:30am to 4:00pm

Morning Tea Included - BYO MUG

Mixed media artist and art teacher Cathy Shugg is driven to explore the world through her art.  She has painted en plein air on all seven continents, undertaking artist residencies and other adventures to challenge and inspire her art making. Cathy exhibits in Australia and Europe.  Her art is represented in private and corporate collections in Australasia, Europe, the UK and North America.

Cathy describes her art practice as “Outside-Inside”. Her plein air paintings and drawings are moments-in-time observations of life and place,predominantly watercolour, gouache and ink on paper.  These artworks inspire Cathy’s subsequent explorations in paint, collage and mixed media in her Bowral studio and studios abroad.  Her art practice and teaching encompass a broad range of 2D media, techniques and subjects.  Her work is characteristically colourful,joyous and full of stories – as is her teaching!

For this mixed media workshop, Cathy will guide participants through a range of mixed media and methods to turn anaemic, underwhelming paintings, into vibrant,multi-layered works of art.  You will explore how ink, pastels, acrylic paint and paper collage can be combined on paper or canvas to develop artworks that DO “work” and also extend each artist’s ideas and skills.  This workshop is ideal for developing landscape or cityscape-inspired work, abstract pieces and other strong subjects and images.

Materials List:

Surfaces:

·    2 or more artworks that you’d like to develop and  push to a new level – Preferably A2, or equivalent, on paper or canvas.

·    Resources relating to these artworks – eg  sketches, photos, notes etc.

·    3 or more sheets of white heavy watercolour paper  (300gsm is ideal) OR

·    Canvas Board for additional new works – large size  preferable.

Paints:

·    Acrylic colours of your choice.

Brushes:

·    Bring a selection of Large and Smaller brushes.

·    Flat Mid-Sized Taklon (or other synthetic) brush  for gluing.

Painting Medium:

·    Cathy likes satin varnish/acrylic painting medium  from Atelier or Matisse.

Inks:

·    Sepia or Black Waterproof ink in a bottle with a  dropper – Cathy likes Matisse waterproof Sepia Ink.

Drawing Materials:

·     Bring your usual drawing materials – eg Pastels,  Oil Paint Sticks of Waterproof Coloured Inks.

     – NB It  needs to stay on acrylic paint and glue.

·     Brush on Glue that dries clear – Cathy’s favourite  is  Mod Podge Matte Glue (worth  buying!)

Misc:

·     Selection of Translucent and Opaque Coloured and  Patterned Rice Papers/Tissue Papers – Acid Free Wrapping Paper is ok, too.

·     Newspapers or Magazines – can be used in your  artwork and/or when gluing.

·     Water Pot

·     Palette

·     Rags, Chux or Paper Towels

·     Apron

·     Large Scissors

·     Ruler  (optional)

PLEASE BOOK & PAY BY 22 AUGUST 2025

9:30am to 4:00pm

Morning Tea Included - BYO MUG

Jenny has over 30 years’ experience painting and has been a teacher of adult students for over 20.  As a ‘learner’  she was very fortunate to paint with some of Australia’s best, Helen Goldsmith AWI who’s master classes she attended for many years, Chan Dissanayake, Herman Pekel, and Mignon Parker.  Jenny started her own watercolour school 10 years ago, Northern Beaches Watercolour, and later extended that into online teaching, which is her passion.  She now has over 1000 students both in Australia and overseas.

She has a casual, no pressure, attitude to teaching, with a bit of humour tossed in!  Students can concentrate on enjoying the adventure, instead of stressing about this most enigmatic of mediums. 

Jenny’s preference has always been for landscapes.  She adores trees and bushland and has explored their wonderful   Australian colour and texture Australian beauties all my painting life. You can find my online art school at www.onlinecourses.northernbeacheswatercolour.com.au.

‍

‍Materials List: Apart from the paper, the rest of the equipment is up to you, but below are the equipment and colours Jenny will be using.

Essential:  

·     1 half sheet of Arches 300gsm rough  watercolour paper   OR

·     2 x A3 sheets of Arches 300gsm  rough watercolour paper

   (You will use up to a quarter sheet – A3 – for each painting)

Brushes:

·     A regular, round pointed brush –  eg. Rosemary and Co Kolinsky Sable No.10

·     Regular round pointed brush, nylon,  for detail – eg Escoda Perla No.10

·     Small Hake or good Medium Sized  Squirrel Mop for washes.

·     A flat brush around ½ inch, if you  have one.

·     A ‘bristly’ Hog Bristle brush, or a  bristly stiff fan brush (you’ll be abusing this brush, so make sure it’s not  expensive!) – Can be found in craft stores around ½ inch wide.

‍Paint Colours:

·     Prussian Blue

·     Aureolin or Windsor Yellow

·     Burnt Siena

·     Quinacridone Gold or Permanent Gamborge

·     Manganese Blue or Cerulean Blue

·     White Gouache

·     Raw Sienna

·     Permanent Rose

·     French Ultramarine

·     Cobalt Blue

Misc:

·     Pencil

·     Rubber – White or Kneadable

·     Large Water Container

·     Towelling Rag

·     A Backing Board for your painting

·     A Support for the Backing Board – Can be a box  of Tissues

·     Masking Tape

·     Palette

‍Note:

·      You can use any other equipment, or  colours, you like to use.

·      Jenny prefers to have her paints  squeezed out and dry, in a large open welled palette, such as the Neef Stay  Wet Palette.