2024 Judges

Chief Judge: Mike Barr

Since getting serious about his art in the early 2000s, Mike has been a great believer in the role of art shows and competitions in an artist’s development. Competition-shows tend to extend the capabilities of participants as we aspire to the many great works on show and gets us away from the praise of family and friends and makes us see where our work really stands.

Mike has won over 100 awards here and overseas including 20 Best in shows and 25 Best in category awards. He won Best in Show at the Victor Harbor show in 2016. He is currently a columnist for the UK art magazine ‘the Artist’ and shows in galleries in the US, UK , Adelaide, Perth and Sydney.

In 2021 Mike was invited by the Art Gallery of South Australia to demonstrate during the very successful Clarice Beckett exhibition. Mike’s motto in painting is “It’s not what you see – but what you feel”. His rainy cityscapes and expansive beachscapes are designed so viewers can enter, not merely look. He believes that paintings are meant to catch the essence of time and place.

Assistant Judge: Lisa Wang

Melbourne based artist and art teacher, paints in both watercolour and oils. Lisa received an art bachelor degree major in Fashion Design in 2000 in Shanghai. In 2002 she emigrated to New Zealand, during her time there she developed further as an artist, established her own art school and became a respected art teacher. In 2007, she moved to Australia, and started working as a full-time artist. Lisa is a member of VAS and WSV, and was the Vice President of the Watercolour Society of Victoria between 2019-2022. She has held 9 solo exhibitions and many group exhibitions. Lisa enjoys working with an extensive variety of subjects, but portraits and wildlife are her favourite. Her confident brush work, use of colour and ability to capture light and details making her paintings unique and highly sought after by art lovers and collectors world wide.

Assistant Judge: Stefan Gevers

Stefan Gevers works with the concept of presenting our current place in the landscape, exploring, and responding while spending time within the landscape, one that is divided historically and culturally. To comprehend the landscape sometimes you need to see the organic quality of the land, work with it and experience it. Every landscape has individuality and the same is true for the forms that make it up. Ultimately creating a connection with the place and it’s past, makes the now more valuable.

Stefan Gevers is an artist born in The Netherlands and graduated from the ARTEZ College of Art in 1999, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He is now an Australian Citizen, based in Melbourne and works predominantly with watercolour, textiles and ceramics and has an
extensive exhibition history.

His works are held in the public collections of the National Australia Bank, Artbank, Banyule Council, Peter Mc Callum art Collection, State Library of Victoria & State Library of Queensland, and Private Collections.