Finalist in the Archibald prize and twice finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrtait Prize - and with a portrait of the Hon. leo McLeay, hanging in Parliament house, Canberra...introducing DAVE THOMAS talented Welsh-born artist now available for corporate, private, sporting, academic and equine portrait commissions.

The scope, style and versatility of this accomplished artist are illustrated in the following gallery pages. Dave's much respected realist style of painting, is well suited to the traditional subject and combines seamlessly with his inherent ability to capture the "essence and spirit" of the sitter as well as a true likeness.

"My realist style of painting is well suited to traditional subjects, and I have always been fascinated by the human figure, and in particular, portraiture. People are drawn to paintings of other people, especially when a painting says something - when it is more than just a likeness! These days there are numerous ways of producing a large portrait of someone, but I feel the more discerning person will invariably turn to the painted tradition for that something special. After all, the process of producing a painted portrait is so very different from other methods, requiring the artist to constantly re-asses the progress of the painting. this is in order to capture the essence, the spirit, if you like of the subject."

Dave Thomas. INTERNATIONAL PORTRAIT ARTIST >>>> continued.........

Dave Thomas was born in the town of Pontypridd, Wales in 1950.Studying fine art at English and Welsh colleges from early 1970 he was soon being commissioned to paint portraits of famous sporting personalities for club, and boardroom hanging.
In the early eighties, Dave moved to Milan which saw a significant change in his technique, subject assessment and artistic development, and which lead to his appointment as head of the Art Department at the International School of Milan, Italy. After a period in that position, Dave secured both an agent, and the interests of a well known Gallery and began to focus on the promotion of his own work.
After a short visit to Australia in 1986, he returned again in 1989, establishing his own teaching studio, and workshop facilities in NSW.

Since July 2000, Dave has lived in the NSW Southern Highlands town of Bowral where he paints commissioned works from his studio.

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Aiming to be regarded as one of Australia's top portrait artists, Dave has enterred work in the major portrait competitions and exhibitions, becoming a finalist in both the Archibald Prize and Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.

" My portraits have recently gone through something of a transition, in that my early works were only concerned with getting a good likeness of the sitter, now I am far more concerned with capturing the essence of the sitter as well. Nowadays the painting has to work as a painting in its own right. The constant re-assessment of the work is of paramount importance, and more and more I am seeing qualities in my work that I can readily identify with. I regard drawing skills to be tremendously important in the production of representational, and in particular, realist work, and there is a high degree of draughtsmanship in my paintings, the use of light and dark contrast also contributes to this."

Mural Painting
" I am also fond of the challenge of mural painting, especially 'Trompe L'oeil' and have painted a number of these in Villas in Northern Italy. I have painted a huge Barrier Reef scene at the new National Aquarium in Canberra, with others at Taronga Zoo, and Ocean World in Sydney."

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Sporting Memorabilia
" In addition to my numerous corporate portrait commissions, over the past eight years, I have become increasingly involved in the area of Sporting Memorabilia. That is, I am commissioned to paint portraits of famous sporting personalities, from which limited edition prints are made, and sold."

" Combining my passion for painting, and my love of sport has been a particularly satisfying merger and I believe I am justified in stating that I am highly regarded as a sporting artist, and a painter who can 'come up with the goods' in this competitive market."

Over The Years
" Over the years, my job as a portrait artist has been not only to portray an accurate physical likeness of the subject(s), but also to "pull" the painting together so that the finished result works on a number of levels. This is especially important regarding the kind of commissions I receive these days, I will be given an outline of the project, from which I must create a concept acceptable to all concerned parties. I will source relevant reference materials and use my skills as a portraitist and artist, to create a painting that captures all the required elements."

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