It is a biannual, non-acquisitive drawing prize with a $12,000 cash award.

The prize was initiated by former Family Court judge and Olympic rower, Paul Guest QC, and encourages artists from across Australia to create challenging and unique drawings.

There are 45 finalists in this year’s exhibition. Some artists are established, others are emerging and some are amateurs.

A broad range of artists, themes and media have helped shape a diverse and interesting exhibition.

One such artist is finalist Lily Mae Martin. For Martin, it’s proving to be a successful year professionally.

Martin is a finalist in numerous prizes, including the Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award (JADA), Grafton NSW, Paul Guest Drawing Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery, National Works on Paper, MPRG and the Rick Amor Drawing Prize, Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Martin’s distinctive style is influenced by the mark-making of etching, as seen in her work Crawling. It is characterised by delicate and detailed cross-hatching with a fine pen. She is represented by Scott Livesey Galleries, Armadale, and lives in regional Victoria.

Craig Easton is a Melbourne-based artist working within the model of abstract painting. A more established artist, Easton has held 27 solo exhibitions since 1996 and is a regular contributor to institutional, independent and commercial gallery projects. His work is held in major public and private collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Federal Court of Australia and East China Normal University Shanghai.

Easton is an artist who is concerned with the formal elements of art, such as edges, shapes, colours, surfaces and textures.

He holds an MA from RMIT University and has lectured at RMIT, Monash, and the Victorian College of the Arts. Easton is represented by NKN Gallery, Melbourne.

Another finalist is local artist Andrew Southall, who is based in Elmore.

Also a finalist in the Paul Guest Prize in 2012, Southall is best known for his modernist paintings. 

His drawing, titled Silo was possibly inspired by one of his walks or bike rides around his home.

While not an abstract work, Silo is a strong tonal piece portraying his acute observational skills.

The Paul Guest Prize exhibition is open from 10am-5pm, Tuesday-Sunday. Entry by donation.