Perth Royal Art Prize for Landscape Winners
We are delighted to announce and congratulate the 2025 Perth Royal Art Prize Winners.
Each of these outstanding artists below has demonstrated exceptional creativity and skill, and we are proud to celebrate their achievements as part of Western Australia’s premier art award.
You can also view the full list of finalists here.
First Prize
André Lipscombe
born United Kingdom, lives Perth, Western Australia
Crustose painting 2025
acrylic on plywood
courtesy Art Collective WA and the artist
Artist’s statement
I bring paintings into existence through a spectrum of informal time-based painting techniques over long periods of time. In this work thousands of paint layers creates a tactile form that both reveal a pattern of experience and resemble the narrative of constant growth in nature.
In this piece I have drawn upon my experience of native Crustose Lichens, a common symbiosis of algae and fungus, that typically grow 1 mm a year on very hard substrates, like granite. To make this work I have repurposed timber, and a palette of household paints sourced from neighbourhood roadside collections and community donors.
Judges’ comments
Demonstrating a sophisticated use of technique, Lipscombe’s Crustose painting has evolved over an extended period time through thousands of layers of found paint. Echoing the lichen that informs this study, the work appears like a natural manifestation of slow growth, belying the intense labour of its creation.
The rigorous discipline of Lipscombe’s practice is evidenced in the final work, an intriguing and dense object that holds immense energy. Here, macro and micro perspectives merge. The tonal variations of the encrusted paint project a sense of timelessness and ancient granite landscapes.
Highly Commended
Troy Drill
born Wyndam, lives Warmun, Western Australia
country: Gija
Kangaroo fat dreaming 2025
traditional ochre on canvas painted with bush grass
courtesy Warmun Art Centre
Artist’s statement
Dis painting is called Kangaroo fat dreaming. Mi bin use ochre from my Country and bush grass to make dis one. Dis story bin come from my old people. It talk ’bout old man who read da Country, ‘e look da ground, look dam marks where kangaroo and dingo bin walk.
Dem line on da hill, dem show dem tracks. Dass how we find feed, how we survive. Mi painting what my old people bin learn me. I keepin’ dem story strong, for da young fellas now.
Judges’ comments
This is a striking and bold representation of a story handed down through the artist’s family, a part of his and his Elders’ Dreaming. Drill demonstrates a masterful use of ochre and fine line to create an image that is a mesmerising depiction of his people’s Country.
An immersive landscape that draws the viewer in, Kangaroo fat dreaming pulsates with energy, communicating the power and lifeforce of the land. Using bush grass and natural ochre, the artist has adeptly created a scene that captures the raw beauty and ancient history of Gija Country.
Highly Commended
Nicole Slatter
born Perth, lives Perth, Western Australia
Remnant 2025
oil on board
courtesy the artist
Artist’s statement
Remnant is the feeling left behind in the landscape, after a key part has been taken or destroyed.
Judges’ comments
Slatter‘s dexterously executed painting is an eery evocation of a landscape within a non-specific location. A sense of absence and other worldliness is generated by a deliberately ambiguous composition: the impenetrable sky scape and lack of horizon line is in contrast to the foreground treatment of deftly painted plants, trees and undergrowth of murky shadows.
Remnant is a compellingly mysterious landscape that captivated the judges; it is an accomplished artwork that rewards contemplation. As the artist comments, there is something amiss, a part of this vista has vanished.
Emerging Artist
Breanna Vos
born Sydney, New South Wales, lives Perth, Western Australia
Archived, 2025 2025
drypoint etching on steel with aquatint and relief roll on archival paper
courtesy the artist
Artist’s statement
Archived, 2025 joins drypoint, aquatint and an off-white relief roll on steel plate to echo the effects of coral bleaching and ocean acidification. Based on my own photos of Moore Reef, this work captures the reef as it was in that moment – a living memory held against the backdrop of imminent coral decline.
This work reflects on coral as consequential ephemera, fleeting and fragile. The striking, beautiful image mimics tourism campaigns, prompting reflection on how we glorify nature while its reality quietly disappears.
Judges’ comments
Most worthy of the Emerging Artist Award this underwater scape depicts a highly concerning environmental issue, the bleaching of coral at Moore Reef, near Cairns. Vos’ Archived, 2025 has addressed this topic with a visually arresting depiction of the coral which gives the impression of beauty, despite its ongoing jeopardy.
The etching plate has been worked skilfully to create a sense of inky depths. Derived from the artist’s own documentation of the reef, the nebulous forms in mirror image suggest not only underwater landscapes but human anatomy and the subconscious.
Previous Winners
2024 Perth Royal Art Prize Winner, Hiroshi Kobayashi
Hiroshi Kobayashi, The night above, the sun below 2024, acrylic on polyester canvas, courtesy the artist.
Highly Commended, Joshua Cocking
Joshua Cocking, First impressions 2023, oil on canvas, courtesy Linton and Kay and the artist.
Highly Commended, Sarah Thornton-Smith
Sarah Thornton-Smith, here : now 2024, etching inks and gouache on paper, courtesy the artist.
Emerging Artist Award, Nicole Steenhof
Nicole Steenhof, (we are) water with skin on 2024, oil on canvas, courtesy the artist.
2022 Perth Royal Art Prize Winner, Lori Pensini
Ascension - wattle spirit landscape 2022, oil and burnt red gum wood on linen, courtesy the artist
Highly Commended, Wade Taylor
Providence 2022 oil on linen, courtesy Stala Contemporary, Perth and the artist
Highly Commended, John Manson
Verdi Street, Albany 2021, oil on canvas panel, courtesy the artist
Aboriginal Art Award, Melissa Sandy
Spinifex country acrylic 2022, acrylic and medium on canvas, courtesy Yinjaa-Barni Art, Roebourne
Emerging Artist Award, David Brown
Karilwurra 2022, natural pigment on canvas, courtesy Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra
2019 Perth Royal Art Prize Winner, Tim Burns Rocks Gwambygine 2019, acrylic on canvas, courtesy the artist and Art Collective WA
Highly Commended, Doreen Chapman Untitled 2019 acrylic on canvas, courtesy Spinifex Hill Studios
Highly Commended, Di Cubitt Frankland riverscape 2019, oil and gesso on board, courtesy the artist and Stala Contemporary
2018 Perth Royal Art Price Winner – Coss, Penny – Landstain
Highly Commended – Gear, Kendal – Retreat
Highly Commended – Darbyshire, Jo – Limestone coast
People’s Choice Winner – Murphy, Michael Vincent – Sailing towards the wet
Salon People’s Choice Award Winner – Maumill, Barbara – Jacaranda
2017 Perth Royal Art Prize Winner – Cironis, Olga – Storm at Port
Highly Commended – Gear, Robert – Outpost
Highly Commended – Hoy, Susan – Beach Cottage
Catalogues
Looking for past information? Click below to access catalogues from the previous years.
