About me
Hi,
My name is Jean David, and I am a artist and art teacher
Biography of Jean David
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Jean David has studied at the Julian Ashton Art School (JAAS) in Sydney, Australia, (est 1890), one of the most influential and prestigious in Australia. The training was traditionally academic, and gave him the ability and skills to remain true to the form when working with portraits and figures. After gaining experience at JAAS, Jean realized that he needed an appreciation of contemporary practice, so he enrolled and was subsequently awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (Major Painting and Drawing) from the University of NSW. During the three years while studying at the College of Fine Arts, Jean developed an appreciation for the abstraction of form and colour, which is now so pronounced in his painting. At the end of his degree course, he was invited to do an Honours year, which he deferred. Jean has most deliberately nurtured a (relatively) unique ability to work in both traditional and contemporary methods, which enables him to produce works with a unique style and technique. Several years ago he relocated to Europe to develop his practice, and it was in the south of France where he found further impetus in his direction and investigation into colour and form. Jean is extensively involved in the art scene in France, Europe, London, and Sydney. His work is featured in a number of private collections throughout Asia, Australia, China, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, UK, and USA. |
Exhibitions 2021 - Awarded First Prize in the Oil Painting category at the Echall’Arts 2021 Art Festival, France. 2019 – Awarded painting prize at the Montmarte à Clisson Painting Festival, France 2020, 2018, 2015 & 2014 – Chosen for exhibition in Salon d’Automne, Paris, France 2017 – Awarded painting prize at the Magne International Painting Festival, France 2016, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2019 – Noordwijk Schilderfest, Netherlands 2015 – Solo Exhibition in Groupama, Niort, France 2015 – Exhibition in Galerie Beauté du Matin Calme, Paris & Séoul 2014 – Art in the Open festival, Ireland (awarded prize) 2014 – Solo Exhibition in Château Sainte-Catherine, France 2014 – Exhibition in Art De La Brèche, France 2013 – Solo Exhibition in Royal Gallery Amsterdam, Netherlands 2011 – Solo Exhibition, Artest Sydney, Australia 2010 – Jean David Atelier d’art, Cordes sur Ciel, France 2009 – Solo Exhibition in KunstKerk, Amsterdam 2008 - Affordable Art Show at Marcello’s Gallerie HAAGS, Netherlands 2008 - Paint, Light & Colour - solo exhibition at The Gallery Upstairs, Netherlands 2006 - Annual Exhibition Royal Society of Oil Painters, Mall Galleries London 2006 - Battersea Contemporary Art Fair, London 2006 - Affordable Art Fair, London 2005 - "Love" Exhibition at the West-Eleven, London 2004 - Solo Exhibition at The Watch House, Balmain Sydney 2003 & 2002 – Threshold at Manly Arts Festival, Sydney 1999 - Julian Ashton Art School Annual Exhibition, Australia
Bachelor of Fine Arts, 2003, College of Fine Arts University of New South Wales, Australia
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For Jean David, the world is a village. Born in Scotland in 1956, a citizen of
Australia, the country where he studied painting (in Sydney), he is a holder of
a British passport and lives in France, where he has exhibited time and again,
notably at the prestigious Autumn Show. A fulltime artist since 1996, he
teaches both classes and workshops. He also travels throughout Europe and
Asia, and is represented in many private collections (China, USA).
If his work draws on diverse techniques, oil painting still remains his tool of
choice. “That’s where I feel most comfortable,” confides the artist. “Over the
years, I have become familiar with this technique and I find it provides a range
of extraordinary effects, whether that’s with a paintbrush, a knife, with cloths
and even with the fingers.”
The starting point of his work comes invariably from the nature of doing
portraits, drawing flowers or undertaking a bright landscape. “Everything that
unfolds on my pallet comes from what I have in front of me. After that, I can
choose a variety of different processes to produce a work.” His paintings,
although figurative, tend now and then towards the abstract: “When I paint
something I have to respect the entirety of the form and I do not think I can
improve it. For landscapes, I sometimes move from realism to abstraction.”
This creation develops in the open before being reworked in the studio. And
it’s always the emotion which prevails…