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David Dawes is a largely self-taught artist who began weekly art classes in Braidwood two years ago with Amalia Alegria Wolfe, continuing to learn and refine his practice with each session. He has also undertaken classes with Nicole Kelly at the National Art School, Ash Frost in Leichhardt, and Idris Murphy at the Willoughby Arts Centre.
Dawes is a representational painter, working primarily in landscape, sometimes incorporating figures, and in still life. His work often searches for blocks of colour or small “landscapes” within everyday subjects.
He is particularly drawn to colour, shape and light, and typically paints alla prima using knives and some brushes. As William Congdon famously said, “Who would bring a brush to a knife fight?” — a sentiment that resonates strongly with Dawes’ approach.
His inspiration comes from views through his studio window beneath the Budawang Ranges, as well as from overseas travel, particularly to Japan. In his practice, Dawes seeks to communicate his personal interpretation of what he sees around him. He is less interested in grand theoretical statements, preferring instead to create, take risks and solve problems as they arise.
Dawes has exhibited and sold work at Altenberg Gallery (most recently in 2023) and has participated in several group exhibitions at the Braidwood Regional Art Gallery. In 2025, he received an Honourable Mention for his still life Breakfast in Kyoto in Brunswick Street Gallery’s Fifty Squared exhibition.
Before turning to painting, Dawes worked with fused kiln-formed glass, producing tableware and small sculptures, and has long maintained an interest in printmaking, particularly woodblock and etching. His influences include Richard Diebenkorn, les Fauves, Brett Whiteley, Euan Uglow, and modern Japanese sōsaku hanga printmakers.
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“Industrial Still Life, Itoigawa, was painted after a photograph taken from the bullet train as the scenery flashed past.
“Itoigawa is a small town on the north coast of Honshu Island. It's a seaside resort known for jade stone but most of what you see from the train are industrial buildings.
“It was January, cold and deep drifts of snow everywhere. Yet the sky was cloudless and blue, a great backdrop for the vertical shapes and complimentary colours.
“I wanted to simplify what I ‘saw’ into shapes, then colour and finally tones. I enjoy colour at its purest and exploring the complexity of mixing colours - I always try to use three in every mix, the primary and two other combinations.
“I wanted to depict the scene more as a still life and less a landscape - a nod to Jude Rae's still life objects. The work is influenced by the early sosaku hanga movement – big blocks of colour and abstract shapes.”
David Dawes, 2025.
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