In my wardrobe: Paul Davies

Artist Paul Davies has a fascination with houses and architecture which he explores using stencils and painting. He's dressed down and paint-splattered when working in his Surry Hills studio, but come an exhibition opening, Davies is always one of the best dressed artists. Currently based in Sydney, where he is represented by Olsen Irwin gallery, Davies is moving to Los Angeles next month, where his signature casual and understated style will fit right in.

Leila Jeffreys | Prey

"Prey is a celebration of what makes Australia special and is a reminder that one of our biggest assets soars in the skies above us." - Leila Jeffreys, 2014

Leila Jeffreys

Leila Jeffreys' work 'Matilda' shines in the home of Merrick and Georgie Watts in the October issue of Real Living magazine. Jeffreys' photographs beautifully capture the personalities of each subject - from budgerigars to cockatoos and tawny frogmouths. Injecting charm and individuality into a space, living with a Jeffrey's work is like gaining a new member of the family. View available limited editions of 'Matilda' and other Leila Jeffreys' works here on our website. 

Man Meets Horse

'Scuse me, but I've got a head of Christ here'. 'Right ho- just drop it outside,' says a cheerful Nic Fiddian-Green to the white-van man delivering an enormous sculpture. We are standing in his freezing- cold, rickety Surrey studio. "It's a converted sheep-shearing shed,' he tells me. "When I first moved in, there were rotting carcasses everywhere.' The face of God incarnate being delivered isn't the oddest thing that happens during our meeting. Gale-force winds are shaking the studio like the tornado in The Wizard of Oz; 25-foot-tall horses's heads are dotted around; and, at one point, the proceedings are interrupted by a vicar coming in to bless the space.

Two of Us

Comedian and author Anh Do, 36, has forged a friendship with award-winning painter Paul Ryan, 49, over their love of art and shared understanding of the impact of absent fathers.

Stephen Bird | Ceramic Review

"Sometimes disturbing, often complex, and always richly layered with imagery, Stephen Bird's plate and platter forms depict allegorical tales, contemporary world events, and personal histories juxtaposed in unnerving and unsettling ways." - Annie Woodford, Ceramic Review UK Stephen Bird spoke with Annie Woodford of Ceramic Review about the themes behind his most recent body of work and his multi-disciplinary approach. As a formally trained painter using ceramics as his canvas, Bird describes his work as "where 2D and 3D collide." Click here to read the whole interview.

Olsen's King Sun rises

Amid the glass walls and muted tones of Docklands' commercial building clusters, something vibrant and altogether more organic has risen. A quivering sun, its rays unfurling in orange, pink and splotches of green across an immense canvas (six by eight metres) was installed at the weekend under the watchful eye of its creator, famed Australian artist John Olsen.

Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan is an Illawara based painter and sculptor. Born in New Zealand, Ryan migrated to Australia in 1973. He studied at Wollongong TAFE and at the University of Wollongong. Ryan has exhibited in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. He has been a finalist in numerous art prizes including ten times in the Archiblad Prize. Ryan has won a number of art prizes including the 2010 Paddington prize, 2012 Geelong Prize, and 2013 Bay of Fires Prize.

Sublime Modernism

Paul Davies paints a house we all know. With its clean lines, simple proportions and defined angles, the house Davies depicts is textbook modernism- a building recognisable the world over. 

The work of Peter Booth. An intuitive artist of uncompromising vision

In his latest exhibition in Sydney, at Olsen Irwin gallery, Peter Booth was keen to show his drawings and works on paper together, echoing important shows he has earlier in his career at Pinacotheca Gallery Melbourne, where unframed works were pinned to the walls. This simple style of presentation added to the immediacy of the works, making them accessible to the view in a very intimate and tactile way.

Salute the Sun

In his twilight years, John Olsen is taking on one of the biggest challenges of his career. Ali Gripper steps inside his studio to find an exuberant tribute to the Australian landscape.

The Pace. Tales from Influential Men

Inspired by artists such as David Hockney and Jeffrey Smart, the Sydney artist's work is based on abandoned architecture.

Big Fish

Big Fish

Art Collector

May 2013 

The new influencers

Meet the talents currently reshaping Australian culture, from stage to gallery to turntable. Remember these names, says Noelle Faulkner.

Portrait is very well Done

While not instantly recognisable, Ken Done has once again show his face at the Archibald Prize.
The Mosman artist has been painted by Melbourne artist Amanda Marburg and the portrait hung in the Archibald. Self Portraits by Done have been finalists in the Archibald twice, in 1984 and 2011.

Cultural Capital

The moment of creative inspiration is often characterised as a flash, a spark, a spontaneous flicking of a light switch or - somewhat dangerously - a lightning strike. Yesterday visited Paul McCartney in a dream. William Blake and Giacomo Puccini described themselves as careful transcribers of heavenly dictation.

Photographer snaps up prize

When photographer Tamara Dean won a prestigious trip to the US, no one was more surprised than she was.

Noah's art lets innocence shine

TIM OLSEN will not hang the artworks of any old celebrity in his gallery.
The gallery owner said he turned down showing works by tennis great Martina Navratilova and Sir Paul McCartney.
''I'm too busy to do a pretentious exhibition of someone just because they're famous,'' he said.
But he was drawn to the Australian actor Noah Taylor's artworks ''because he's a f---ing good artist … he's not trying to give a lesson in nude drawing or classical cross-hatching.''

Noah takes time out for a doodle

"I think everyone has their own doodling style," says Taylor, a prominent actor ever since his appearance in the 1987 hit film, The Year My Voice Broke.
He is referring to that automatic writing of symbols that people indulge in when they're "on the phone and talking about whatever to an accountant or something". He has found his personal symbols have tended towards the figurative.

Behind the lines of Noah Taylor's art

IF you came of age in Australia in the 1980s, as I did, you will probably be familiar with the name Noah Taylor. You must also recall The Year My Voice Broke, the movie about sexual awakening, teenage angst and unrequited love in a country town that launched the acting career of a gawky-looking kid from St Kilda.