People’s Choice nabbed by Echuca artist

Maryann Jenkins, who won the People’s Choice for her artwork Drovers Dream, said she appreciated the community support.

“It was great. It’s nice to have that acknowledgement from your friends and family and people who know you,” she said.

“It’s a good feeling just to know that people appreciate the work that you’ve done.”

Her piece was based on a poem that she found in her husband’s scout jamboree book.

Ms Jenkins said it was great to see artists with various styles participate in the mural festival.

“You’ve got the really arty people who are used to doing street art and murals and things, and then you had people like me that are probably more traditional artists with a narrative or storybook style,” she said.

"I think it was really good for all the people who came by to see them that there were all these different.”

Gren Freeman won the judges’ competition, a fact that surprised him.

“I was chuffed. It was a nice feeling. I wasn’t expecting it, but it was a thrill,” he said.

His piece, Impossible Dream, was a self-portrait surrounded by things he wished didn’t exist in the world.

“It's basically about trying to get rid of all the things in the world that we don’t really need, like weapons and garbage and money and different things,” he said.

“It’s not meant to be gloomy, and I hope people haven’t taken it that way. I wanted to make a statement because so many things in the world need to be removed, even if that’s an impossible dream.”

Marco Pennacchia who took home Highly Commended, won the mural festival competition when he took part in 2022.

His work this year represented the veil between the dream world and reality.

Organiser Judy Anderson said she was thrilled with how the event went this year.

“It went absolutely fantastic. We didn’t have any problems at all with anything or anyone,” she said.

“I think everyone was really, really happy. The weather was good and we couldn’t be happier with how it all worked out.”