Brendon Darby
Brendon Darby is a multi-award winning artist who has held more than 40 solo exhibitions across Australia, in Austria, Italy, Hong Kong and London.
Primarily known for his stunning landscapes and portraits, many of which bridge the gap between realism and abstract, Brendon has also been a finalist in The Archibald Prize, The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and The Black Swan for Portraiture.
Brendon’s formative years were spent in Perth and from an early age he had a passion for, and connection to, the environment. The freedom to explore this during his youth encouraged a pathway to combine his love of the Australian bush with his profession as a musician and an artist, along with a healthy sense of humour.
Studying at Perth Technical College and then working as a professional musician and an artist in the early years has further developed Brendon’s empathy and focus on the environment and its preservation.
As a feature artist at Plein Air Down Under 2020, Brendon will conduct a two-day plein air workshop on 24 and 25 September, and will be painting throughout the festival long weekend. If you want to learn how to paint from a master, do not miss this workshop!
“My main motivation to paint is a very basic human trait that we all possess: the need to share experiences that stimulate us”.
In 2007 Brendon was invited to exhibit at New York’s American Museum of Natural History as part of G’Day USA. This was the premiere presentation of his ten year project Listening to Paintings – Australia. The multi media event involved Brendon’s live musical presentation, film and ten major paintings describing the Australian landscape. The night raised over one million dollars for the Australian environment. It was then presented in Houston, as part of Australia Day celebrations.
Brendon has spent considerable time living, painting and exhibiting in Europe and the USA. Most recently he spent time painting, exhibiting and conducting painting workshops in Italy.
