Perry Prize People's Choice Award 2024

PLC Sydney and Adelaide Perry Gallery congratulate Bungendore, NSW, artist Kerry McInnis who has been awarded the People's Choice prize of $2,000 at the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2024 Exhibition of Finalists.

Kerry McInnis, Cow Sketches, 2023, charcoal and Conte on acrylic ground, has won the 2024 People's Choice Award.

Visitors to the exhibition, which ran from February 23 - 22 March, were asked to vote for their favourite artwork. From the forty works on show, McInnis' charcoal, Conte and acrylic work Cow Sketches emerged as the clear winner. Of the work, she stated, " I had forgotten how much I used to enjoy drawing, so this attempt to portray a herd of cows at Wilsons Promontory has been a delight for me. I did a number of sketches and paintings of these expressive animals while on a recent trip to the Prom; these were useful additional references to the photographs I have used in the modelling of the herd ".

Kerry is represented in Sydney by Wagner Contemporary, Paddington.

Congratulations, Kerry!

Kerry was born in Hawaii, later spending her childhood years in the Philippines and in Guatemala.  Her years in Central America were formative in her early expression as an artist with her exposure to colourful Latin American tradition, ritual and lifestyle.

She attended university at Middlebury in Vermont where she was trained in classical drawing, painting and printmaking under the tutelage of David Bumbeck.  She spent her third year in Paris, studying at the Sorbonne, graduating 2 years later with a double degree in Art History and French with Honours.  Kerry has since continued her love for the arts, completing a Masters Degree in Art Materials Conservation from the University of Canberra, and directing her company, Art and Archival Pty Ltd in the preservation of works of art on paper for over 30 years.

Kerry is now working full time as an artist in Bungendore, in rural New South Wales. Her paintings and drawings are usually in the landscape and portrait genres. Kerry’s artwork is often described as energetic, loose, and expressive. She is frequently invited by art groups to teach workshops and she will be running master workshops soon from her own studio.

Kerry has been selected as a finalist in numerous national art competitions including :  The Archibald Prize, The Salon des Refuses,  The Dobell Drawing Prize, The Portia Geach Memorial Art Prize, The Kilgour Art Prize, The Ravenswood Art Prize, The Fleurieu Art Prize, The Rick Amor Art Prize, The Kedumba Drawing Prize.