It has been a good year so far for the Tuggeranong artist, who was also a finalist in this year's Archibald Prize and Gallipoli Prize.

"I think I'm sort of starting to peak," he said.

The Calleen Art Award was founded in 1977 by Cowra art patron and collector Patricia Fagan. This year's winner will be announced at a function in Cowra on Saturday night.

Townsend, 59, said he chose the Three Sisters as his subject for very heartfelt reasons.

"I was born in the Blue Mountains, in Kurrajong, and that scene of the Three Sisters is very important to me," he said.

Townsend returned to the area for a bushwalking trip about a year ago and decided to capture the iconic rock formation.

"The scenery is just phenomenal," he said.

Townsend, who paints in the realist style, says he has been working on standing out from the pack.

"I paint things that look real but I think there's another level that I've gone to. To win any of these prizes, you've got to come up with a really unique idea," he said.

"So I've gone to another level where I'm really focused on my subject."

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