Paul Davies tells us more about his artworks in an exclusive interview.
I first met Paul Davies when I was living in Sydney (Australia), working as an art director for Acclaim magazine.
Paul has his studio located at China Heights, the gallery where I was doing the Sydney stop of my last touring exhibition.
A good opportunity to meet again and exchange a few words with this nice and talented artist.
More about the Australian painter Paul Davies.
Paul Davies in his studio in Sydney
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF
Paul Davies Australian Artist based in Sydney at China Heights studio.
Painting of a modern house, typical of Paul Davies’ work
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORK?
The focus of my painting is predominantly based on the relationship between the built and natural environment.
Exhibition by Paul Davies
PLEASE SHARE WITH US YOUR WORKING PROCESS
My practice primarily involves photography, stenciling, and acrylic painting, with which my first experiments began in 2002. These works depicted Sydney street scenes mixed with researched popular culture images. The layering process of this technique created on the canvas a visual diary of my immediate surroundings. This method of free association i.e. assembling researched images, collected from my studio floor, onto the canvas, allowed me to experiment with different medium, which is something I still use now to explore various concepts in my work.
Painting on canvas by Paul Davies
HOW DOES YOUR ENVIRONMENT INFLUENCE YOUR ART
I often travel within Australia or overseas, on research trips, to find source material to photograph and sketch. I enjoy this part of the process because I don’t know what I’ll find. When I return to the studio I print these images and stick them up around the space, which gives me inspiration for the paintings. China Heights studio is located close to Sydney’s CBD and I find this urban location vital in creating my works which combine the built and natural environment.
Artwork by the Australian painter Paul Davies
WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
- Peter Doig
- Sergej Jensen
- Harry Seidler
- David Schnell
- Neo Rauch
- Rachel Whiteread
- Stefan Kurten
- Ansel Adams
- Matthias Weischer
ANY LAST WORD?
Upcoming exhibition “Portraits” at Tim Olsen Gallery, Melbourne, opening 11th October and touring to the Gold Coast City Regional Gallery through November!
