David Dawson

David Dawson

From Talk Art by Russell Tovey and Robert Diament

April 23, 2026 · 54 min · Season 27 · Episode 10

About this episode

Robert meets painter David Dawson to discuss his new large scale landscape paintings and his creative process.

Robert meets painter David Dawson to discuss his new large scale landscape paintings, part of an ongoing body of work created en plein air in the artist's county of Montgomeryshire, Mid Wales. From April 25 – October 11, ‘Land, Sky, Light’ is a solo exhibition at Gainsborough’s House featuring fifteen of David Dawson’s (b. 1960) recent large-scale paintings of his native Welsh countryside.  Having left Wales for London where he was a student at the Chelsea School of Art and later becoming a model and assistant to Lucian Freud, these paintings represent an artist returning to their childhood home to explore the nature and solitude of its surroundings. The canvases possess a deeply autobiographical nature, being representative of Dawson's formative childhood years in the country side, and his continued experiences of solitude and connection. Initially painted outdoors during each season of the year, the artist continues to work on them in his London studio to then complete them back in the countryside. About this creative process, which can take years, the artist states:  “Painting to me is about the reality of being in the land and making marks that correlate to me…

People in this episode

Host: Robert Diament

Guest: David Dawson

Topics covered

  • landscape painting
  • art exhibition
  • Wales
  • autobiographical art
  • plein air painting

Keywords

  • David Dawson
  • landscape paintings
  • Montgomeryshire
  • plein air
  • art exhibition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gainsborough’s House, Chelsea School of Art

Books & works: Land, Sky, Light

Places: Montgomeryshire, Wales, London

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