Kempsey based artist, Jason Ridgeway, has been nominated in the First Nations category for his piece 'Echidna Dreaming'.

The inaugural National Capital Art Prize is the first Australia-wide competition for paintings of any subject. The prize pool is more than $45,000 and aims to provide a platform for many artists who were unable to showcase their work during the 2020 COVID affected year.

The public is able to vote for his work under the 'People's Choice Award', voting ends on September 30.

Mr Ridgeway, a proud Dunghutti man, spoke with the Argus about the nomination.

"I'm very excited about it, it's a big award, and they are having an exhibition with all of the finalists in Canberra, which is great," Mr Ridgeway said.

"With my artworks, I usually do my own experiences, unless there are stories that I've been told about.

"So with this one, the tracks leading to the different meeting places, and the colours depict different sceneries of the land. The waterholes are places I've been to."

The painting took around 24-30 hours to complete.

"If people can hop on and give it a vote, that would be great! You can vote once every 24 hours, so every vote counts," Mr Ridgeway said.

His talent is a gift that keeps on giving, as he also recently designed the artwork for the Sydney Roosters jersey, in this year's Indigenous round.

As a diehard Roosters fan it was was a dream come true. "Since I started painting about six years ago, I always wanted to design something for the NRL's Indigenous Round," he said.

The future is bright for Jason, who also has hopes to open a gallery in Kempsey in the future, COVID pending.

He also creates murals, surfboards and other custom artworks. To see more of his work, check out his Facebook page: Blackboycreations.

Alternatively, go to his Instagram @Blackboycreations.

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