John McCartin World Art Awards

Ms JENNY AITCHISON (Maitland—Minister for Regional Transport and Roads)—I'd like to pay tribute to impressionist painter John McCartin who has again taken out top honours in the World Art Awards 2024. Mr McCartin has defended his titles of Best Landscape Painting and Best Still Life painting won last year by taking the titles again this year. Beyond that he has gone one better by taking out the Best Painting in Show prize for 2024. John's Entry an oil-on-linen still life piece called "Azaleas and Pomegranates" gained the highest score out of 50 different categories and thousands of entries from pop to portrait in style and was selected by the 20 international judges as the best in show. Azaleas and Pomegranates also won first place in Floral – Realism and his landscape "Tide's out Robin Hood Bay" also won first place in its category. In my community John exhibits in the Morpeth Art gallery where 34 of his works have been featured. Congratulations to John and Trevor Richards OAM and his team from the Morpeth Gallery for the incredible contribution you have made to art not just in Maitland, but across the world.