Malcom Sands West MacDonnell Ranges I, 2020 oil on canvas 84cm x 91cm $1800.00 framed — Malcom Sands
West MacDonnell Ranges I, 2020
oil on canvas
84cm x 91cm
$1800.00 framed

In October 2019, Malcolm Sands held his first solo exhibition as a Gallery 139 Artist. A Painter’s Journey cemented Sands signature stylistic painting form and followed the artist’s journey from Orange through the Bylong Valley into the Hunter Valley, finally reaching the coast at Dudley Bluff.

Sands has always been interesting in art, from about age 7, he started making scale models and dioramas. By his 30’s Sands interests had moved to painting landscapes. His interest in painting fuelled by visiting galleries, especially Ann Von Bertouch Gallery in Cooks Hill. After taking some painting and drawing classes through WEA Newcastle, he then enrolled in night painting classes at Hunter Street TAFE.

At Hunter Street TAFE he met fellow artists who would go onto form the ‘The Seven Painter’s’ group which met every Tuesday night in their shared studio at the Parry St Newcastle Community Arts Centre (now Newcastle Art Space located on the grounds of Tighes Hill TAFE)

The Seven Painters group has held regular exhibitions since 2001 at The John Paynter Gallery (now The Lock Up) and later (from 2014) at Newcastle Art Space (Newcastle Community Arts Centre gallery). The groups’ most recent exhibition was held in The Show Room at The Owens Collective in October 2019.

In 2001 Sands won section C of the Maitland Art Prize and he has been a finalist in the Maitland Art Prize (2000, 2002 and 2003), the Newcastle Emerging Artist Prize (2003, 2004), Waverley Woollahra Art School (WWAS) 9x5 Art Prize (2017) and The Picture House Art Prize (2020), part of the Gunning Arts Festival.

Sands is the Gallery 139 Feature Artist at the 2020 IGN Art Fair held via LIVE Instagram on Newcastle Art Gallery (due to COVID-19).