Mr Smeeth has had two of his pieces chosen for the Mortimore Art Prize, with the competition consisting of 125 works.

Mr Smeeth said although the Mortimore prize is not as big the Archibald, in terms of money and advertising, it is still a worthwhile competition.

“Having this prize is a great asset to Dubbo,” he said.

“The competition is pretty hot with a majority of national figures and some Archibald finalists.”

A portrait of Craig Scorgie and still-life piece Coconut Crabs are the two works Mr Smeeth has had accepted into the prize.

He said his ambitions is not necessarily to win the prize.

“Just getting into the competition is an achievement in itself,” he said.

One of his greatest challenges lies in trying to make his works look real.

“It is easy to splash a bit of paint on a canvas,” he said.

“With portrait painting you have to show the essence of the person ... the portrait has actually got to look like them ... not their cousin.”

Without the establishment of the Mortimore Art Prize Mr Smeeth said a lot of quality paintings who not have been created.

“Each year there would be something like 100 paintings that wouldn’t have been done if it wasn’t for that prize,” he said.

“It gives people, especially local people, an incentive to paint. It will bring great things to Australian art over the next 20 to 30 years.”

Mr Smeeth said he appreciated the realist nature of the prize.

“There is a place for all art,” he said.

The Mortimore prize will be on show to the public at St Brigid’s Church Hall, Dubbo from September 27 to October 18.