I paint large abstracts, which begin with close observation of patterns and surfaces in the natural world, and end up as landscapes teeming with subtle animal, human or plant silhouettes.
My fascination is the moment when close observation and attention transform natural forms or surfaces into imagined worlds, when viewers of the painting navigate the delicate space between memory and observation, between structure and intuition, and they discover to their surprise and delight the hidden forms within the ‘landscape’ of the artwork.
Working in oils, I build compositions layer by layer on the canvas until elements of natural ecosystems emerge within the patterns and colours of the abstract landscape – but only subtly, only by suggestion.
Ultimately, my work is an invitation to the collector, to the viewer, to look long enough into the canvas that the world of the artwork rewards that ‘slow looking’ by revealing in successive ‘aha’ moments the hidden forms within its layers.
While some works originate in geological formations (‘Stone’) or coastlines (‘Water’), and others in the patterns in the trunks of living trees (‘Wood’), together they explore the interconnected systems that sustain our natural landscapes. The paintings reflect a preoccupation with the complexity, resilience and vulnerability of these ecosystems, possibly fuelled by my 2009 survival of a large brain tumour, as well as with a long-held fascination for the delicate relationships between landforms, vegetation and the life they support.
My Australian works were first exhibited in Wellington Gallery in Sydney, before my move to Adelaide in March 2020, since which time my artwork has sold into every state and territory in Australia and half a dozen countries internationally. I sold abstracts via Ex Animo Art Gallery in Adelaide from November 2023 until end October 2026, but I now represent myself for any abstract artwork sales within South Australia. In VIC, my works are represented by Manyung Gallery Group, with new works currently at the Sorrento and Mt Eliza galleries, while in WA Yallingup Galleries represents my art and shall soon have some of my very latest works. I also do some landscapes, and these are available through Artworx Gallery in Goolwa.
See something of my artistic process on Instagram, and you can email me at patrick@patrickjohnpearson.com or phone me at 0498 188 909.
CV –
Group Exhibition, Ex Animo Art Gallery, August 2025
Group Exhibition, Artworx Gallery, Goolwa, August-September 2025
‘Lightness of Being’, Spier & Wright, Goodwood, September 2025
2024:
‘Translucent Memories’ 3-artist exhibition Ex Animo, July-August
‘Birth & Rebirth’, Solo exhibition Farina, Hyde Park, July
2023:
‘Spectrum’, 3-artist exhibition End/Space_ Gallery, October
Finalist, Adelaide Parklands Art Prize Exhibition, Adelaide Festival Centre
2022:
Group Exhibition, Goodwood Theatre & Studio, February
Solo Exhibition, Chateau Yaldara, Barossa Arts Festival, April
2021:
Solo Exhibition, Curate, Prospect, July
Group Exhibition, Newmarch Gallery, Prospect, July/August
Solo Exhibition, Goodwood Theatre & Studio, August
Winner, Established Artist category, Mark Butler Art Awards, Adelaide
Relevant Press:
2026: SA Life, Luxury Ed. September 2025: SA Life Magazine, November (Art with Medallion Homes) 2024: SA Life Magazine, Luxury Edition, September 2021: Channel 7 Interview and Airing
Patrick with his award-winning painting ‘Bush Party’ – an abstraction of bark patterns on a paper mulberry tree in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens