About the Artist
Biography
Damian Talbot is a landscape painter based in Hobart, Tasmania, originally from the historically rich city of Ballarat. His artistic journey began in childhood, sketching with his grandmother at the kitchen table. Winning a primary school art competition sparked his curiosity, leading him to explore the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, where the meticulously detailed landscapes of Düsseldorf trained painter, Eugene von Guérard, left an everlasting impression.
As a teenager, Damian painted en plein air with the Ballarat Artists Society, immersing himself in the rural landscapes of Victoria. These experiences introduced him to the Max Meldrum method of tonalism, shaping his approach to light and form. Despite pursuing a biomedical science and medical degree, his passion for painting remained constant. In 2018, he held his first solo exhibition, One Mind, Five Views, in Sydney, featuring figurative works, portraits, and landscapes that reflected his evolving artistic direction.
Following the exhibition’s success, Damian took a hiatus from medicine to study 19th century French classical drawing and painting techniques at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his studies, leading him to balance locum medical work across Australia with independent artistic development. A private mentorship with Pablo Tapia in Newcastle reignited his connection to Australian tonalism, bringing his journey full circle.
Since settling in Tasmania in 2021, Damian has drawn inspiration from its rugged and picturesque landscapes, refining historical painting techniques under the guidance of renowned artist Luis Borrero. His exploration of 16th- and 17th-century methods, along with the craftsmanship of making his own materials, has deepened his connection to the artistic process.
Today, Damian’s work is a celebration of Australia’s natural beauty, capturing its rich textures, colours, and ever-changing light. With a clear vision for the future, he continues to explore the landscapes that inspire him, creating art that reflects both his interest in the craft of painting and deep appreciation for the world around him.
Artist Statement
Painting is a deeply personal form of expression for me. As a lifelong stutterer, I’ve often found my ability to speak limited, sometimes the words I want to say escape me entirely. In those moments, painting becomes my voice. Instead of relying on language, I channel emotion through colour and brushwork, using the canvas to express what words cannot. If I won a billion dollars in the lottery, I would go and paint the next day, after buying some more oil paint, and a few more brushes.
As an en plein air landscape painter, my work seeks to capture the fleeting beauty of nature, not through rigid reproduction, but by letting each moment speak to me and painting what it feels like. I believe in art for art’s sake. Oscar Wilde may have been right when he wrote in his preface to A Picture of Dorian Gray that a painting is 'useless'...and yet, it is beautiful in and of itself. And that, I believe, is enough.
To me, painting isn’t about recording nature topographically or showcasing skill. It’s an act of becoming. The landscape may exist, yes, but until I paint it, it hasn’t existed in that way. A painting can hold more than just a single moment; it gestures toward something enduring, like a landscape that existed long before I arrived and will continue long after. That’s the kind of eternity of the phenomenon Nietzsche wrote about.
I prefer to work directly from life, guided by light, weather, and the shifting feeling of a place. Influenced by the Heidelberg School and French Impressionism, I trust the energy of the moment to shape the outcome.
Painting, for me, offers a momentary escape from the restless pull of the world. In The World as Will and Representation, Schopenhauer describes the experience of pure aesthetic contemplation as being like a person in a small boat during a storm, surrounded by chaos, yet somehow still, watching it all unfold without being drawn into it. When I paint, I feel outside the grip of the Will, no longer striving or chasing, just present, quiet, and at peace.
Ultimately, my work is an exploration of nature, emotion, and self-expression, an invitation to slow down, look closely, and find something deeper within the everyday.