Congratulations Julia Ciccarone on being named the 2024 Len Fox People’s Choice Award winner. Her painting (pictured above) was on display at Castlemaine Art Museum in the Len Fox Painting Prize exhibition until earlier this week.

The Painter depicts an artist returning to his studio after sketching en plein air. The figure carries a handcrafted wooden case his grandfather made, now filled with drawing utensils, that alludes to his history and knowledge passed down from previous generations. I utilise history, both recent and ancient in my work. I am indebted to my artistic predecessors, both within Australia and abroad. Emanuel Phillips Fox’s most direct influence on my work is his contribution to plein air painting in Australia and his particular talent for capturing Australian light. I completed The Painter, 2023 after visiting the Bay of Fires in Tasmania. As is my customary process, I studied, sketched and photographed the landscape before returning to my studio to complete the composition and painting process. I, like Phillips Fox, have long been engaged with travel and influenced by what I have had the privilege of seeing whilst overseas. Italian art movements have been particularly influential. Both of my parents migrated from Italy and I have travelled there many times, including to complete the Verdaccio Studio (awarded through the Australia Council). Julia Ciccarone, 2024.

The Painter is now available from our stockroom.

Julia Ciccarone will be exhibiting at Niagara Galleries in 2025.