This year saw 10 local painters, sculptors, potters, and photographers open up their private studios for visitors to admire and purchase some of their pieces. 

One of this year’s participants was painter Maggie Deall, who had about 60 visitors through her studio on the first day of the Trail.

“This is my first time on the Art Trail and it was pretty flattering to be asked, since I’ve only been back painting for the last 18 months since I moved to Wagga,” Ms Deall said.

“We’ve had artists come through, people who’d seen the flyers, people who just wanted to buy some art, and because the Riverina is all about art and craft there are just so many creative people here.”

A police officer by day, Ms Deall said her passion for art has become almost therapeutic for her in recent years. 

“I’ve been in the cops for almost 17 years, so to do this and have another side of my life that is completely separate is almost like therapy, and I think something like this really does give you longevity in policing,” she said.

“I remember the first time someone said ‘This is Maggie Deall, the artist’, because it’s always been ‘This is Maggie, she’s a police officer’, so it was so nice to be identified as something that’s more me.” 

Another emerging Wagga artist whose art was on display this weekend was Megan Cameron, whose drawings of pets and animals on gift cards were a huge hit. 

Having moved to Wagga fairly recently, Ms Cameron said the Art Trail was a rare opportunity for emerging artists like herself to get their work out there.

“I specialise in pencil portraits, so drawings of people’s pets or any sorts of animals, and I do a lot of memorial portraits for people’s pets who have passed away,” Ms Cameron said.

“I started doing the cards to make my art more accessible, and that’s because if you’re a dog or a cat person, it’s very difficult to find cards that aren’t photographic.” 

Ms Cameron said the Art Trail also gave her an opportunity to show off some new techniques she had been trying out using a pallet knife.

“I basically started doing some painting with really bright, fluroscent colour to give myself a bit of a change from the super detailed black and white graphite drawings,” she said.

“I love colour anyway, and it’s sort of weird because most of my drawings are black and white, so it was a nice opportunity to just splash some colour about and be a bit freer.” 

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