It was announced at the Brett Whiteley Studio in Sydney's Surry Hills today that Sydney artist Petrea Fellows has been awarded the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship for 2001. Her winning work Treescape, is an oil on board painting measuring 30 x 25cm.

Twenty-eight year old Petrea completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the National Art School in East Sydney in 1999; previously having been awarded an Associate Diploma of Graphic Design.

She has exhibited widely in group shows, and in 2000 her work was highly commended in the Lloyd Rees Memorial Art Prize. In 1999 her work was highly commended in the John Copes Prize, and she was a finalist for the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship and for the New York School Drawing exhibition.

Commenting on the award, Petrea said: 'This Scholarship is an amazing opportunity to have the luxury of an overseas experience, and the artistic freedom to focus on developing my work unhindered. It will be such an adventure to be in Paris, the epicentre of romanticism, with its incredible wealth of art, culture and history.'

The funds for the annually awarded Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship were made available in 1999 by Mrs Beryl Whiteley, Brett Whiteley's mother. Her inspiration for the Scholarship was the profound influence the awarding of the Italian Travelling Art Scholarship had on the young Brett Whiteley.

Entry for the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship is open to Australian artists aged between 20 and 30. The Scholarship comprises an amount of $25,000 and a 3 month residency at a studio in Paris administered by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

This year's Scholarship was judged by artist Ann Thomson, Barry Pearce, head curator of Australian art, and Deborah Edwards, curator of Australian art, both at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

This year a total of 183 entries from every state in Australia were received. 50 finalists were selected, and from these a short-list will be on exhibition at the Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills from 15 September until 14 October 2001.

On View:

Finalists' paintings for the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 2001
The Brett Whiteley Studio
2 Raper Street
Surry Hills, 2010

Information	telephone 61 2 9225 1744 or 61 2 9225 1881
Hours	Saturdays and Sundays only 10am to 4pm
Admission	$7 adults / $5 students/concessions

The Brett Whiteley Studio is managed by the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Road The Domain,
Sydney 2000
Telephone (02) 9225 1744
or recorded information (02) 9225 1790
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
Open 10am to 5pm 7 days a week (closed Christmas Day and Easter Friday) Admission free of charge (admission charges apply to some exhibitions)