EMINENT Australian landscape painter Mary Tonkin will be the judge of 25th King Valley Art Show, opening at King River Brewing on November 1.

The committee connected with the Melbourne-based artist through Fran O’Neill, one of this region’s most acclaimed artists based in Cheshunt; the pair having gone to university and then studied together at the New York Studio School.

Mary Tonkin is known as a plein air (open air) painter who works in the lush bushland she explored as a child.

Her parents grew cut flowers and bulbs, and her sister continues to grow rare bulbs on this land at Kalorama in the Dandenong Ranges, where she ventures outside to capture the beauty of the surrounding forest, tree fern gullies and bush dams.

Ms Tonkin completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in 1995 and a Master of Fine Arts in 2002 at Monash University, where she has also lectured.

She has held solo exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney since 1999, participated in multiple group exhibitions, and was awarded the National Gallery of Victoria Trustee award in 1994 and 1995, and the Dobell drawing prize in 2002 - the highest prize for drawing in Australia.

The artist's work is held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and numerous other public and private collections.

Ms Tonkin said she was looking forward to visiting the King Valley and seeing the diversity of work on display in the art show, having been forewarned it will take time to assess the hundreds of expected entries on display.

She said she was looking forward to getting to know more about the region and seeing what participating artists will contribute to the mix.

"For me, images are best when they convey not just the appearance of something, but how it feels to be in a particular place - a good painting (whether a landscape or other) should convey a sense of its place, where it's come from and its topic.

"Painting is direct, and it's mediated through our senses and sensuous response, all wrapped up in our sense of place in the world, which comes with time and culture."

Ms Tonkin said painting outside, rather than in a studio, was both an essential and enjoyable factor in her own practice.

"It's just a complete delight being immersed in it, and I think being aware of that whole sensuous loop really informs the content of the work, or the kind of feeling that you can generate," she said.

"You can't obviously illustrate it, but you can convey or imply a sense of the smells and sounds - what it's like to be enfolded in that particular landscape - through the poetic language of painting."

Ms Tonkin said participating in art shows can be beneficial for artists on the whole, but they need to be kept in perspective.

"It means an artist can see their work in the context of whatever else is being made around them," she said.

"That can be a terrific learning experience - on the other hand it might be quite confronting and even upsetting if their work isn’t what they hope it to be.

"The whole concept of prizes for artwork is problematic - ultimately judges can only pick winners according to what they value in a work of art, and what appeals to their personal, subjective taste.

"It is important that artists do not feel that a prize is the measure of the worth of their work.

"It is external validation, which is useful, but ultimately the work must meet the needs of the maker."

The 2024 King Valley Art Show will be open to the public on November 2 and 3 from 10am until 5pm and on Monday, November 4 from 10am until 3pm at King River Brewing and entry is $3 (kids free).

Prize winners will be announced during the Gala Opening being held on Friday, November 1 from 7pm with tickets available now by visiting kingvalleyarts.com.au, with return bus transfers from Wangaratta available.