About Sam Broadhurst

A Bit About Me

Being a landscape painter of the South West, I am constantly searching for the depth of understanding that allows me to resonate with this diverse area. Having painted this region for the last 18 years, and raising a family here, has offered me an opportunity to reflect on a way of thinking so often overlooked.

When painting small studies on site, one of the most fundamental things that grounds me to the scene is what I am standing on. It is a concept for me to consider the importance of the smaller objects at our feet, that give the connection to what is and has been. So often I observe in my children their fascination with the smaller things. Intrigued by the variability and diversity of different colours and shapes.

How often do we as adults gaze out at a landscape towards the horizon seeking something more infinite and a little more unknowing. So in a way my paintings represent two ways of thinking. Spanning from the foreground as a child would see, journeying to the horizon as an adult seeking the intangible. Offering the passing and fragility of the foreground, compared to the more eternal distant horizon.

We live in a fast paced world, where it is not always possible to take time to pause and connect with our environment. In my paintings, I have attempted to attend to the small things within nature, focusing on the present and giving priority to the here and now. There is so much to savour, explore and discover, providing opportunities for us to see nature as a precious part of life that is worthy of being given more consideration and care.

Biography

After completing a Bachelor of Science Degree at the University of Melbourne, Sam worked as a Research Assistant at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute for about 10 years.

During the late 1990’s, he became aware of the important aspects of painting through the teachings of abstract expressionist Yvonne Audette. Through this experience, Sam developed an awareness of the importance of shapes and structure within paintings, giving him an understanding of works ranging from Rembrandt to Cezanne. Since moving to Western Australia he has pursued his art as a full-time career.

During the past 21 years he has travelled and painted throughout most parts of Western Australia, soaking up the diversity of the landscape. Sam lives with his family in a granite house he built himself, outside of Margaret River.

In 1991 he won the Victorian Artists Society Spring Exhibition and following this won the Camberwell Rotary Travel Award in 1992, enabling him to travel throughout Russia and Europe.

He has held 20 solo exhibitions in a diverse range of media, including oils, acrylics, watercolours, etchings and pastels.

AWARDS

2021 Winner Viewers Choice, Vasse Art Award

2020 Finalist Lester Prize

2018 Finalist Perth Royal Prize

2018 Winner Homegrown Prize, Vasse Art Award

2017 Finalist Perth Royal Art Prize

2012 Winner Viewers Choice, South Western Times Survey

2010 Highly Commended Camberwell Rotary Art Show (Victoria)

2003 Highly Commended Cossack Art Award

1992 Winner Camberwell Rotary Travel Grant Award

1991 Winner Victorian Artists Society Spring Exhibition

PUBLICATIONS

Down South – Summer 2012

Scoop Magazine – 2006

Australian Artist – June 2003

Australian Artist – March 2000

Pastel Artist International – June 2000

Painting

Painting is a marriage between two processes, sketching and studio work. This fusion of thinking and emotion enables me to convey the feeling I have for the landscape, transgressing into a more fluid space.

Sketching

Through the engagement of nature, a more ethereal world is touched upon to find a place that is both invigorating and meditative, simultaneously. It is the core and grounding in which to launch my sensations onto canvas.

Studio

The studio is the logical part of the painting process. From this platform, materials and methods are researched enabling me to extract the feeling of the landscape and mould it into a two dimensional plane.