Talking with Painters

Australian painters talk with Maria Stoljar about their lives and art

Author: Maria Stoljar

Maria Stoljar talks with Australian painters about how they became an artist, their painting techniques, influences and current work.
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Language: en-us

Genres: Arts, Design, Visual Arts

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Ep 168 Sophie Cape wins the Hadley’s Art Prize
Sunday, 31 August, 2025

Watch an edited video version of this conversation on the YouTube channel here Sophie Cape has just taken out the $100,000 Hadley’s Art Prize for landscape with her powerful painting Thunder Shifts the Shivering Sands. It’s a raw and visceral work on canvas made using rust, charcoal, soil, pigment and binder. In this episode I talk with Sophie about what winning the prize means for her at this point in her career. She also tells me about her incredible path to painting — from training as an elite athlete with Olympic ambitions to finding her way into the art world after injury changed the course of her life. Sophie has received multiple awards and residencies over her career. She has exhibited in over a dozen solo shows and her work is held in many public and private collections. She is represented by Olsen Gallery. A highlights video from this conversation will be up on my YouTube channel soon. I also spoke with 12 of the other finalists, and those conversations will be heading to YouTube shortly as well. During my time in Hobart, I was a guest of Hadley’s at the beautifully restored Hadley’s Orient Hotel (built in 1834) and is the venue for the exhibition. The show runs until 21 September, accompanied by a series of talks – you can find more information on their website here . Links Podcast listeners - see images of the works we talk about here Sophie Cape on Instagram Sophie Cape at Olsen Gallery Australian Story: Adrenaline Brush: Sophie Cape Sign up for the Talking with Painters newsletter Talking with Painters on Instagram Talking with Painters on youTube Talking with Painters on Facebook Thunder Shifts the Shivering SandsRust, charcoal, soil, pigment and binder on canvas2024148cm x 160cm Romper Stomper, 2014, oil, acrylic, bitumen, charcoal, and soil on canvas, 209 x 203cmWinner, Portia Geach Memorial Award, 2014