Whiteley scholarship winner unveiled.

(From Bulletin Wire)

Gold Coast artist Wayde Owen is a self-taught painter who began studying art only this year and is happy just to have been "hung".

But on Thursday the 28-year-old walked away with the prestigious Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship.

The scholarship, named after the artist who died in 1992, is now in its seventh year.

It includes a prize of $25,000 and a three-month residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris.

Owen, who won the scholarship for his painting titled California Quail, said he was happy just to have been a finalist.

"I don't know what to say. I'm overwhelmed," said Owen,, …