About
Darren is an artist residing in Launceston, Tasmania. His main passion is all landscape scenery Tasmanian, from rural farmland to mountains, rivers to coastal and urban street scenes. Tasmania, from it's cities and small towns and wild World Heritage regions, has a never ending source of varied subjects. Darren often bushwalks into remote wilderness in search of subject matter to paint.
Darren's work is characterised by suggestive, painterly brush and palette knife work in the tradition of impressionism.
" I remain firmly attached to reality in my art but would like to think ones' style as open to evolution. While I like to paint with suggestive marks and strokes I can see myself becoming a little more abstract and tonalist in the future."
Painting en plein air is the best teacher of art. You are in close contact with your subject and it's there in full vivid colour large as life in front of you. There are discomforts and challenges and it is important to draw on resilience and determination to overcome the distractions and just get the brushstokes down on canvas.
Darren lived in Victoria from childhood and became a painter of the landscape at the age of 20 in 1988. From humble beginnings studying in night classes, he followed early influences of the Australian impressionists. Through extensive travel and work in remote locations across Australia he mainly studied the landscape and composition through drawing and photography.
Put to Pasture - oil on canvas 50x74cm
Bio
A new beginning in painting came in 2001 when Darren commenced studies in watercolour under Andrew Gemmill at the McClelland Guild of Artists Studio (McClelland Art Gallery, Victoria). He developed an immediate connection with this new medium and later enhanced his skills studying under other master watercolourists in various workshops. He continued with watercolour until 2011 before returning to oil paint with an impressionist flair. “In Tasmania I spend much of my spare time bushwalking in wild country collecting reference material by photo and plein air studies for more substantial studio paintings”Darren has had six solo exhibitions in oils and enjoys painting natural and rural landscape, maritime and urban streetscapes with a strong emphasis on atmosphere and light. His work is currently represented in collections in Australia and overseas.