Talia Dawson’s paintings are being shown at Gallery 1855 as part of the 2016 SALA Festival.
Colourful, cheery yet delicate, Talia’s works celebrate the native flora of South Australia. Flowers and plants are her endless inspiration. She regularly travels around her home state to see native species up close and record their features for new works. Talia is in her final year at the University of South Australia, as she works towards becoming an art teacher.
Talia’s paintings will be on display at Gallery 1855 until Saturday 24 September 2016.
What’s your artistic background? What or who has made a great impression on you?
My love of art; of painting, drawing and creating stems from my childhood, a passion inspired by my mother at a very young age. Over the years my mum has watched my artistic talents grow, constantly teaching and encouraging, allowing my abilities to bloom.
I am now pursuing an artistic career in teaching – a pathway that’s been seeding in my mind for years – currently completing my final year in a Bachelor of Visual Arts at UniSA.
Your current exhibition at Gallery 1855 features several of your contemporary floral paintings. How did you begin this collection? Was there something in particular that triggered its development?
I’ve always been inspired by nature, influenced particularly by our beautiful South Australian landscape. So naturally, I was drawn to the flora our state has to offer, amazed and intrigued by the patterns, colours, workings and general organic abstractions of nature. There are so many hidden gems, the individual details of the landscape often more intriguing than the land as a whole. Exploring this beautiful state that I call home, I have gathered a compilation of fascinating photographs; photos that greatly influence my final creations.
What do you hope people take away when they see your work?
Through my work I aim to encourage others to observe the often overlooked, to be puzzled and captivated by nature’s abstractions, and to discover for themselves the beauty hidden within the South Australian landscape. I wish for people to look through my eyes, to see the ordinary in an unusual way, and to appreciate these obscurities like never before.
Purple and pink features strongly in your paintings, why is that?
The colour theme just seemed to happen naturally. I guess I want to bring happiness and joy to people’s lives, and the bright pinks and purples allowed me to do this, while also tying my body of work together as a whole.
What have been some of your career highlights?
I’ve exhibited in a couple of exhibitions prior to the current Gallery 1855 exhibition, however I consider my career to be only just starting! At the conclusion of Year 12 I was involved in the SACE Art Show. That was probably when the addiction first started, the hunger to continue painting and creating, to further exhibit my artworks for others to see and appreciate.
What would you love to work on in the future?
The future daunts me. I think it’s something I will just have to wait for and see what happens. I believe I will however always centre my practice around nature, immersing myself in the ‘art world’ of SA and beyond and bringing beauty to all that appreciate my work.
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