FOR some, maths and art might seem like polar opposites.

But for Cathy Holmes, the pairing just makes sense.

The Goomburra artist and former mathematics lecturer was the major prize winner at the official opening of the Southern Downs Artists Exhibition at Warwick Art Gallery on Friday.

Taking home $1000 as her prize, Mrs Holmes created a piece called Goomburra Valley, which was inspired by the landscape surrounding her home.

A life-long painter, Mrs Holmes said there was more similarities between maths and art than people realise.

"People think of maths as numbers and equations but there's a very strong visual side to maths,” she said.

"I certainly like that side of maths, that side related to the visual and the spatial.

"I've often thought of things diagrammatically.”

Her strong visual eye came in handy when creating her prize-winning work. Mrs Holmes said she would spend hours in the areas surrounding her home and be inspired by nature.

"I climbed the mountain behind our house with all my paints and canvas and (would) sit there for a few hours,” she said.

"I decided that I shouldn't rush my painting, so it was quite slowly worked up.”

The painting depicts the track of a wallaby, as Mrs Holmes enjoys painting imagery of tracks created in the earth.

"I thought the element of the track gave it a space that one could relate to,” she said.

"It gives you a sense that one can sort of be in or that it helps one sort of enter the picture.”

Mrs Holmes has also tried her hand at pottery and printmaking, enjoying using her hands to create unique pieces.

"I think art is a whole other world that enriches your life,” she said.

"It says something that there's no other way of saying.”

Mrs Holmes said she did not have any plans for her prize money just yet, but that she was more than happy to just keep on creating.