A DESIGN that incorporates the Herald newspaper has won a Little Creatures’ art competition and will appear on two million bottles of its best-selling Pale Ale.

Printmaker Graeme Pages-Oliver seduced the beer-loving public with his drawing of seagulls filching chips wrapped in one of our newspapers.

“I wanted to incorporate elements that were quintessentially Fremantle, so I had seagulls, fish and chips, the Esplanade and the Herald newspaper,” the 67-year-old artist says.

“We lived in Fremantle from 2006-10 while my son was attending John Curtin College of the Arts.

“Wherever I go, I love reading the local paper to get a genuine feel for what’s going on, so I enjoyed sitting down with the Herald back then.”

• This winning label design will feature on 2 million bottles of Little Creatures Pale Ale.

Sixty artists entered the competition, with the five finalists displayed in the Little Creatures brewhouse, where the public voted for their favourite.

Pages-Oliver, who now lives in Darlington and regularly exhibits at the Mundaring Hills Open Studio, is hoping the exposure will give him a late-career fillip.

“Normally my print runs are between 15 and 25, but this time my art will be on two million bottles—it’s quite a step up,” he says.

“I just hope they don’t expect me to personally sign every one…”

The special-edition Pale Ales are expected to hit bottle shops across Australia in June.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK