11:04a.m. 29th August 2008

| Roxanne McCarty-O'Kane

Scott Redford won the Sunshine Coast Art Prize with his piece 'Reinhardt's Silver Instant Painting'. Photo: Cade Mooney/177948

With a successful artistic career spanning more than two decades, Scott Redford is in hot demand for commissioned works and solo exhibitions around the world.

So it is easy to see why the Gold Coast artist would avoid the extra task of entering art competitions.

But fate must have had a plan for Mr Redford, who took out the third annual Sunshine Coast Art Prize last night.

“I don’t really like art prizes to be honest,” he said.

“At the time I got the invitation to enter, I happened to have something suitable which I had recently finished, otherwise I find it’s easy to get off track with creating pieces that meet certain specifications.”

Mr Redford’s piece, Reinhardt’s Silver Instant Painting, was inspired by the main character, 22-year-old surfer Reinhardt Damm, in the feature film he has begun to write.

“I really got into the mind of his character, and it is so much easier to create when you are someone else, you are more free,” he said.

“It’s totally different to anything I have done before. It’s a bit of fun.”

More than 400 artists from across Australia submitted entries for this contemporary 2D art prize and judge Julie Ewington said she had been very impressed with the quality of the top 40 finalists this year.

“The Sunshine Coast Art Prize is a goodie because they have all sorts of different kinds of works and they are very open-minded,” Ms Ewington said.

“It shows contemporary art in Australia is in really good shape, it is very vibrant, active and what is so fantastic is that audiences are really interested and people are taking seriously now our artists, film makers, writers and support comes out in all the art forms.”

Ms Ewington said the decision had been “on a knife’s edge” and she had asked to sleep on the decision before she made it formal.

As the winner of the Art Prize, Mr Redford will receive $15,000 in cash and a four-week residency at Arley Farm Bed and Breakfast in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Brisbane artist Peter Alwast received the $2000 highly commended prize and Melbourne-based artist Bronek Kozka won $1000 and a commendation.

The exhibition will remain at the Caloundra Regional Art Gallery until October 5.