Usually, if David Manks is about to win at Thirroul’s art show, the organisers give him a quiet heads-up to make sure he’ll be there on the night. But last year, the phone never rang – so he assumed it just wasn’t his year.

Then, as he stood chatting outside the packed Thirroul Community Centre on opening night, he suddenly heard his name. At first he wasn’t sure what was happening – until it became clear he’d just taken out the main prize.

“It was a complete surprise,” David, 62, says. “I was very chuffed.”

Guest judge Amber Creswell-Bell, a leading curator and respected art book author, awarded him first place for his oil painting Etched In Time, which captures the moody sandstone escarpment around Austinmer and Wombarra. The win was a popular one, with the painting among the first to sell.

David says he had a good feeling about the piece as it came together.

“Usually my wife’s the resident critic,” he says. “She’s pretty honest – and this time, we both thought it was working.”

Etched In Time came out of quiet walks along Morrison Avenue – where he'd look up at the escarpment and take in its textures, colours and shapes – and was part of a long-running series focused on the cliffs above his home.

“I didn’t include a horizon or sky,” he says. “I wanted the focus to stay on the rock and trees – the subject itself.”

The Thirroul art show runs from May 31 to June 1 as part of the annual Seaside & Arts Festival, which raises funds for Austinmer Thirroul Lions Club charities. This year’s opening night will be launched by guest speaker Daniel Mudie-Cunningham, the new director of Wollongong Art Gallery, with the guest judge to be revealed at the event.

By mid-May, entries are expected to hit the 300 mark. The main rooms will feature sculptures, paintings, drawings, prints and photographs – along with the ever-popular mini and tiny works in the dedicated Minis Room.

The festival’s prelude, Art in the Shops, also returns, with works by local artists displayed in shopfronts around the village from May 17 to June 1. This year, nine new businesses have signed on to take part.

David has entered the Thirroul Art Show nearly every year since moving to the area 25 years ago – and has won multiple prizes. He’s part of a core group of around 100 Illawarra artists who return each year to show their latest work.

But this year is different. With two gallery exhibitions on the way – a solo show at Artsite Contemporary in Sydney and a group exhibition in Armidale – David won’t be entering. Still, he’s proud to have been part of a show that supports local artists.

“There are a lot of creative people living here,” he says.

As one familiar face steps back, a new wave is stepping in. More than 30 first-time entrants have already submitted work – a strong sign, organisers say, that the exhibition’s popularity is still growing.

“There’s something really special about a community art show like this,” says event secretary Christine Hill.

“So many artists who don’t usually have an outlet for their work get the chance to show it – in a fabulous venue, with hundreds of people coming to see, admire and maybe even buy their work – all for a good cause.”

Thirroul Arts Festival runs from Friday, May 31 to Saturday, June 1 at Thirroul Community Centre. Doors open at 7pm on opening night.

Art Show run by volunteers

The Thirroul Arts Festival has been around for more than 30 years, but organisers say it’s getting harder to keep it running without fresh, digital-savvy volunteers.

“We all enjoy the camaraderie of being involved,” Christine says, “but we are anxious that we don’t have enough younger people coming in – especially with the computer skills which are now essential to organising anything, like our new online entry system.”

The art show remains a big drawcard, featuring hundreds of works for sale. Minis start at $100, with most of the other pieces sitting between $400 and $1000 and a commission going to local Lions Club charities.

Last year, 93 mini works and 65 main entries were sold, raising between $20,000 and $25,000, despite rain cutting the main festival short. Those proceeds will go to the Bulli Community Centre and the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation.