Judge Luke Thurgate was impressed by the work of Naracoorte artist Kathryn Mueller, titled The Poor Poor Country .
Judge Luke Thurgate looks over the winning painting, The land Where I Was Born , by Dan Tomkins, to award sponsor representative Kirsty Balnaves and Arts festival president Thelmarie Pretorius.
Youth art prize winner, Penola High year 11 student Melissa Middleton (centre), shows her winning painting The Girl With The Black Hair to principal Kirsty Amos and art teacher Kristen Bence.
ADELAIDE artist Dan Tomkins collected his second top prize for the Penola/Coonawarra Arts Festival last Friday night.
Mr Tomkins, the 2010 winner, won the John Shaw Neilson Acquisitive Art Prize for his mixed media work titled "The Land Where I Was Born".
He was presented with $5000 on behalf of the Balnaves Foundation.
The judge, Art Gallery of SA public programs coordinator Luke Thurgate, said the piece "had a real energy to it" and continually drew him back to it.
"It (the piece) does a lot of things I like to see," he said.
"It has soft still moments mixed with a sort of aggression.
"It looks out of control but it is in control - it's really complex."
Mr Thurgate said the award was a good chance for smaller artists to experience an arts show.
"It is a good opportunity for people who don't get the opportunity to put on a dedicated art show to experience what it is like," he said.
The field of artists included two Naracoorte locals, Mujalin Dawson and Kathryn Meuller.
Full story in this week's Herald.