Edwards’ entry in the prestigious Wynne landscape prize at The Gallery of New South Wales was awarded the ‘Trustees’ watercolour prize.

It is the first major award Edwards has won and his first time being exhibited in a national art gallery.

He said winning the award had given him a confidence boost as at times he had struggled with self-belief.

“Apart from the award, the best feeling was to see my work hanging next to major Australian artists, so being a finalist is an award in itself,” he said.

The watercolour landscape of Mt Buffalo which won the award, ‘Glory Be, Water Tree’ is 115cm in height and 90cm wide. Edwards said this is typically a large size for a watercolour.

"Glory Be, Water Tree' is large for a watercolour. These larger scale works take 18-20 hour to paint,” Edwards said. “But who’s counting?” 

Edwards describes his artistic style as realistic and expressive.

“My method and technique is initially flowing colour washes followed by tens of thousands of quick brush marks. I quite possibly paint up to 100,000 varied strokes for the larger works.

“So [my technique] is a curious mix of spontaneous painting with an element of control, leading to a realistic landscape,” Edwards said.

About the future, Edwards said he is always working on a piece of art.

“I'm always painting. At the moment I’m making local works of Sailors Creek’s beautiful rock walls with plans for a series of works documenting between the falls and Breakneck Gorge.

“My fascination with Mt Buffalo continues with new works weekly.

“I’m also building a Gallery at Bullarto with the hope of having that open in the Spring. So [I have] a little going on,” he said.

This is the last week Edwards’ work will be available for viewing at his ‘Seasons of Life and Mountain’ exhibition at Trentham’s Cosmopolitan Hotel. 

The exhibition closes on June 6.