LOCAL artist Mandy Ryan won the top honours at the Douglas Arts Studio end-of-year exhibition when she was awarded the coveted Peter Culley Award.

Presented annually, it is awarded to a DAB painter or sculptor who has shown outstanding commitment and improvement.

The award was created to honour the memory of Peter Culley, a founding tutor at DAB, who died in 2012. The extremely popular Culley taught many of the DAB artists and his infectious passion is still missed.

Previous winners are: Sue Dennis (2012/13), Rosemary Gotts (2014) and Glenda Gordon (2015).

“I am both humbled and pleasantly surprised. This is a great honour and I will cherish the award,” said Ryan.

The well-attended exhibition held on Friday night at the DAB studio, showcased the artists’ outstanding work over the past year and included pottery, mosaics, glass slumping, water colours, drawing, painting and felting.

Mayor Julia Leu and Councillor Abigail Noli represented the Douglas Shire Council.

Over the past year, specific courses were held by expert tutors, as well as casual groups where artists can bring their own projects. They also use this as an occasion to provide assistance and to support each other.

DAB has a proven ability to offer something for everyone – from absolute beginners to advanced artists – and some artists have their favourite medium, while others enjoy a variety of different mediums.

The exhibition at 11 Mill Street Mossman is open from 10am to 2pm until December 17.

For more information visit the DAB website.