Richard Gaudion Darvall - Artist

UK-born artist based in Melbourne, Australia.

Mediums: Drawing, collage, painting.

Artist Statement.

I would like to talk briefly about the three mediums I use.

Drawing, collage and painting.

It’s a love triangle.

Drawing is a divine mystery to me. You can never stop learning.

I always have pencils, pens or oil pastels on my person.

I love a quick sketch.

It’s amazing what you can create with a few well-placed scribbles.

The oil pastels come out for large, expressionistic works where colour is king.

The art and history of collage fascinates me. I love the process of reinvention.

How a striking picture from a vintage children’s book, for example, can be ripped from it’s former existence and be planted into a new world, where it suddenly enjoys a new identity, purpose and meaning.

My painting style is swift, bold, vibrant and direct.

No fancy stuff.

I keep a basic palette. Red, white, blue and black.

Simple and primal.

I am not too concerned with hyperrealism and detail.

Hopefully, my paintings evoke an immediate sensation and emotional atmosphere.

Character, expression and humour are essential.

I do not copy anybody’s work. I simply do whatever I feel like doing.

Do you know the strangest thing? Sometimes I do not even think about what I am doing.

It just happens. There is a big blank page. A white canvas. Whatever is going to be born emerges from nothingness, and, curiously enough, has always been there.

I am as surprised as anybody when a new artwork says it is finished.

Richard Darvall.