Colour once again beams down from the walls of the Bond Store during the annual Cossack Art Awards.  This year's awards attracted 207 entries from 120 artists, and the exhibition offers a great opportunity to enjoy the talents of Pilbara artists alongside work by artists from other parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and as far away as Tasmania.

The judge, Ken Done, selected Larry Mitchell's oil painting titled Abrolhos-Moonrise as the overall winner.  Mitchell is an extremely accomplished artist and, in this work, his skill in handling paint is very evident.  From a distance, this painting looks like it could be a watercolour, in the way that the muted colours blend into each other.  However, up close, the viewer can appreciate how the artist has created the shimmering reflections using dashes and lines of oil paint, applied with a freedom and confidence that only comes with years of practice.

Landscape paintings dominate the exhibition, as a result of the award categories.  Every artist has a different way of interpreting the landscape.  Works which I particularly enjoyed were Lori Pensini's River Crossing, Christine Hingston's Dirt Road, Ancient Reflections by Claudia Kraus, Ian Dickinson's Last Light, Mt Bruce, David Giles and Shane Moad's paintings, and Jane Martin's In Clear Water.  These are the paintings, which several days after seeing them, still stay in my mind.

In each of these the artists is trying to convey something unique about their subject, and has successfully found an approach and style that suits what they want to express.  They have created works which are very evocative.  For example, Claudia Kraus has used the softness of pastel crayons very effectively to create the subtle colour differences in the rock and its reflection in the pool of water.  A ripple in the right foreground brings us into this moment, which as well as bringing some interesting movement to the image, emphasises the sense of time passing and highlights the age of the rockface.

The exhibition open from 11am to 3 pm daily.  If you're in the region, make sure you visit and cast your vote in the People's Choice Award, to be announced at the end of the exhibition.