City Talks

I didn't plan these nine panels so much as I needed them. Cities get under my skin and into my hands, and the only way I know how to process that is to paint — fast, loud, without too much thinking.

The colour came first, the way it always does; I don't choose red because it's compositionally interesting, I choose it because that's the colour of the feeling. The words arrived the way they do in cities — unbidden, fragmented, a little crooked — Squash, Bang, Breathh, orange juice on the roof of your car — and I wrote them down exactly as I heard them because cleaning them up would be lying.

There's humour in these panels because I find cities genuinely, almost helplessly funny, but the loneliness is in there too if you look — the way a figure can be surrounded by so much noise and colour and still feel like they're standing somewhere very quiet inside themselves.

What I want when someone stands in front of this work is not for them to understand it, but to feel slightly overwhelmed and slightly exhilarated all at once — because that's exactly what cities do to us, and that's what I was painting.

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I’ve always believed that art reveals itself in the quiet and the overlooked—sunlight dancing on a wall, the curve of a worn object, or the stillness before a storm.

To me, these moments are gentle invitations to create, to explore, and to see the extraordinary within the ordinary.

My work grows from curiosity and a constant dialogue with the world around me. The natural environment is my grounding force—its textures, tones, and raw unpredictability remind me that nothing stays the same, and that’s what makes it beautiful. I’m drawn to experimentation, to pushing different mediums beyond their comfort zones, letting the materials surprise me as much as I hope to surprise others.

Whether through photography, paint, or mixed materials, I approach each piece as an emotional response to my surroundings.

I rely on instinct as much as intention, allowing play and spontaneity to guide the process.

Art, for me, isn’t about perfect execution but about honest expression—an ever-evolving conversation between self, spirit, and nature.

In the end, I create not to capture control, but to honour the fleeting, beautiful disorder of life.

Every piece is a reminder that art, much like nature itself, thrives in movement, change, and a little bit of wonder.

An extensive collection of all my art not featured here can be found at: www.natannadas.com.au