Artwork depicting star-lit petrol station secures art prize

An art award has been granted to a painting portraying a petrol station beneath a star-lit sky in Cornwall. Titled Driving Home, the artwork, which depicts a Texaco petrol station situated on Trevemper Road near Newquay, received the People’s Choice Award 2024 as part of the British Art Prize. Cornish landscape artist Dianne Griffiths created the painting. Speaking to BBC Radio Cornwall, Griffiths stated: “The original painting itself is actually being bought by the garage. It’s a really fitting end to the story.” Ms Griffiths mentioned her inclusion among the top 50 finalists in the British Art Prize competition, which is organized by Artists & Illustrators magazine. She expressed that her victory in her specific category caused her to be “jumping up and down.” “I couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t eat for a little while, I was too excited,” she recounted, adding, “I just kept reading the email.” Ms Griffiths also noted that a six-page feature in the February issue of Artists & Illustrators constituted part of the prize. She further commented that it was “lovely” that the garage wished to acquire the artwork. “The painting will be coming full circle, back home to Newquay,” she concluded.