Lennox Head local Jane Allen has won the Doyles Art Award 2025. Ms Allen took out first place with a $20,000 acquisitive cash prize for her work ‘Seaside Explorers’.
‘I am thrilled to win the Doyles Art Award 2025 and I really enjoyed looking at all of the finalists’ wonderful works on display in the gallery,’ Jane told The Echo.
‘The awards night last Thursday was really special.’
Jane is an artist living with an acquired spinal injury which she navigates by painting in unusual positions whilst seated on the floor. She has been painting on and off since childhood but became a full time artist a few years ago.
‘I adore all forms of artistic expression and have attended many exhibitions and performances throughout my life as I feel the arts add joy to our lives and make us think and feel,’ she said.
‘It is my love for art that inspired me to become an artist. The founder of the Doyles Art Award and the judges of the 2025 Award encouraged me to pursue painting as a profession and to use this success as a stepping stone but, for right now, I am enjoying this moment.’
Open daily
The Doyles Art Award is in its 21st year and features over 500 works on exhibition in Firth Park Community Centre, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba. The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 5pm until 13 July and entry is free.
Event Director Sam Sinner says that the winning artwork has sparked healthy debate about what it means to be a representational artist with the style of painting veering away from traditional landscapes such as Streeton and Heyson, and moving towards more modern interpretations.
Artistically beautiful
‘We are delighted to see Jane’s work acknowledged as a winner,’ says Sam.
‘Representational art is not only realism, but basically any art style where you can immediately understand the subject matter. We believe Jane’s work to be artistically beautiful, mature and confident in its approach, with excellent light play and controlled palette. Jane has used oil with wax to achieve a highly textured piece that conveys the essence and movement of an Australian beach scene.’
The Doyles invited three judges with extensive experience in the art world to choose the award winners. Susi Muddiman OAM who was recently appointed Gallery Director of Ngununggula, Southern Highlands Regional Gallery; Amber Creswell Bell, a well-known curator and author from Michael Reid Gallery in Sydney; and Jessica Le Clerc, founder of the Art School Co. on the Sunshine Coast. Their decision on Ms Allen as winner was unanimous.
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