A Spalding artist with a penchant for painting animals has won the prestigious public vote trophy at this year’s South Holland Open Arts contest – for the third time.
Dina Perejogina’s painting ‘Stag Presence’ which depicts a striking brown stag, captured the admiration of visitors to the exhibition which took place at the South Holland Centre earlier this month.
Dina becomes the first artist to win the coveted public vote trophy on three occasions – back in 2014 she triumphed with her painting of three brown piglets peering over a fence and in 2016 her painting of a brown bull took the prize.
Dina said: “I can’t believe I have won again, I didn’t think people would vote for me because they may have known I was a previous winner.
“I love painting animals and like to give a sense that they are looking straight at you in a happy and uplifting way, spreading positive vibes.
“I am very grateful to everyone who voted for me – it’s lovely to know that people are enjoying my work.”
Coun Gary Taylor, South Holland District Council’s portfolio holder for arts development, said: “Dina’s painting is very striking and certainly grabs your attention, so I can see why many people voted for it. To win the trophy three times is an outstanding achievement of which she can rightly feel proud.
“This year’s exhibition once again featured high quality artwork so I would like to thank everyone who took the time to enter.”
The winner of the competition’s best newcomer award went to Jenny Wood for her seascape painting ‘view to Isle of Arran’, while the best photography prize was won by Seamus Bryans.
Open Arts, which has been running since 1999, aims to showcase the best work by professional and amateur artists from across the region.