Miller said the field this year was incredibly tight.
"The consistency of highly detailed, highly finished work across the projects was outstanding. There was only a fraction of difference in points between winning entries."
As a first-time entry from Northland, Mr Miller said "they've represented the region superbly".
Gore firm Kim McDowall Painting & Decorating was declared the overall New Zealand Master Painter of the Year for their work on the revamp of local restaurant and bar Howl at the Moon.
Winners in the 24 commercial and residential categories were from painters as far north as Whangarei, down to Invercargill, with multiple award wins in the central North Island, Auckland, Manawatu, and Dunedin, for a variety of projects including a 108-year-old heritage homestead in South Canterbury, the re-conceptualisation of a wharenui at Hamilton's Wintec university and a new look for a 1920s school hall at Palmerston North Girls' High School, large painting tasks at the Linton Army Military Camp and the Royal New Zealand Airforce Base in Ohakea, and a pro bono effort at the Manawatu Rugby House.
The painters were judged on a raft of technical factors, including the degree of project difficulty, evenness of surface coatings, detail of finishing, colour phases and overlays, and evidence that the contractor had taken extra care when completing the project.
The official name of the award Bream Bay Painting won is called the Koru Trophy for New Residential Interior - Under $25K
