Catherine Lidden is a finalist in 2021 National Capital Art Prize

The professional wildlife artist, who resides in Fullerton which is located 32kms from Crookwell, has been specialising in animals and their environment since 2008.

Her entry for the competition titled 'Grounded' is a 92 x 122cm oil painting in the landscape category.

"I wasn't expecting but I am excited to be one of the finalists. 'Grounded' began it's existence in an idea about the biodiversity of leaf litter," she said.

"I was inspired by a tree that is located outside of Goulburn. It had exposed roots with leaf litter all around it. I was fascinated with the bits of bark, twigs and leaves in all stages of decay that I found in the litter and it became my inspiration for this landscape," she said.

The former Braidwood Central School teacher wanted to be a professional artist, so she quit her job and pursued her passion.

"I love teaching but I was unable to give enough time to my passion. In the end, I got a chance to just concentrate on my art," she added.

The Crookwell community can support their local artists by selecting their works in the People's Choice Award which is now open for voting.

You can view the artwork here. Voting closes on Thursday, September 30.

A total of 121 finalists were selected from out of over 1,000 submissions in the prize. Artists from all over the country entered the competition with category winners set to share a prize pool of $45,000.

Meanwhile, all finalist artworks are on display in a virtual gallery and the public can vote daily to determine who wins this category. The winner of this category will take home a cash prize of $2,500.

The 2021 National Capital Art Prize category winners will be announced in October, with a public exhibition in Canberra.

For more information about the judges and the public exhibition, visit www.nationalcapitalartprize.com.au.