For a man who has travelled the world – and lived in some of its most picturesque places – Dave Thomas could have made a career painting the stunning landscapes before him. Instead, his passion for people and helping to tell their stories, has led him to become one of the world’s most acclaimed portrait artists.
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From Parliament House, to the Sergeants’ Mess of HMAS Penguin, Dave Thomas has works on display. In the corridors of esteemed universities, in boardrooms, in private homes and in some of the nation’s biggest sporting clubs, his work lines the walls. For some, it might be a slightly daunting thought, but it is one that sits quite comfortably with the Welsh artist, who now resides in picturesque Burradoo, just South of Bowral.
“I’m proud of that fact that my work is all over the place – if you know where to look – it’s there,” he laughs.
It is fitting, too, for a man who has spent so much of his life travelling the world and embracing a rich tapestry of people and experiences, that there is a part of himself – his work – all around.
Dave Thomas is the second in our In-Focus Series
Born in Wales, Dave was imbued with a passion for art from the first.
“I was always keen on drawing,” he recalls. “I would be filling up sketchbooks and such when I came home from school. I’d ask mum when dinner would be… and I’d be off – usually to the graveyard.”
A macabre setting, it proved the perfect inspiration. Due to the extensive mining that took place in Wales (Dave’s own father was a miner), there was a lot of subsidence, meaning the gravestones would slip and tilt.
“There was a lovely juxtaposition of shapes and angles and so on – and I was fascinated by that. My passion built from there.”
By the time he was eighteen, Dave was confident he wanted to pursue a career as an artist, completing a pre-diploma in Kent, he then chose to specialise in fine art at the Falmouth School of Art in Cornwall. Returning to Wales thereafter to teach art for nine years, he had his first taste of painting for commission; keen to fund ski trips – the like of which he would try to take four or five times a year – Dave’s first sales set him on a path that has allowed him to thrive as a freelancer ever since.
“I’d get up in front of the (local rugby) team and say ‘right, I’m going skiing this week and I need a bit of a hand to pay for the trip – so if you want something painted – your wife or your kids…’ and before you knew it, I had half a dozen commissions,” he recalls fondly. “They (the commissions) paid for my trips and I thought I’m onto a good thing here.”
So, with a steady stream of sales supplementing his teaching, Dave packed his bags in the early 1980’s and found himself in Italy, where he earned the position as Head of the Art Department at the prestigious International School of Milan. Spending five years in Northern Italy, Dave found the whole experience invaluable. Though the artistic benefit was one thing, in a more holistic sense, he continued to broaden his horizons at an impressionable age.
“There were kids from all over the world there. It was a wonderful mixture of cultures and talents. The thing I learnt was that if you have experience of different cultures, it makes you flexible in the way that you treat people. It allows you to enjoy being around people more.”
A laudable conclusion, it is a mentality that Dave has carried through the rest of his life – both professionally and personally.
To that end, while still in Italy, he embraced the whole cultural experience, throwing himself into the local community through his other passion at the time – long-distance running.
“One of the first things I did when I got to Milan was ask the students if any of their parents were runners,” he smiles. Happily, one of them was, and Dave joined the local running club – his easy and affable nature allowing him to fit in seamlessly, as he ran as the club’s straniero – or foreigner. Ultimately representing Lombardy in his age division, Dave is effusive that it was possible – and indeed beneficial to balance out his artistic pursuits with athletics. “I had a passion for running. If you love something, then you work at it.”
Since moving Down Under, Dave has met a wide range of people, including former PM, John Howard (Source, Dave Thomas Art)
With his artistic passion clarified and buoyed by his Italian sojourn, Dave set off around the world in 1987. Arriving in Australia, he got secured work as an art director on the North Shore, a position that ultimately saw him accepted as a migrant a year later.
“Once I was back here, I set up on my own and have been painting full time ever since.”
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Settling in Australia, Dave began a process of forming connections and finding work. Ever since those days at the rugby club, he has preferred to work for commission – rather than seeking sponsorship from a gallery in order to attain work.
“For me, it (how I get known) is always just word of mouth,” he says. “I find that I get a lot of pleasure from taking on someone’s – what they want – and I endeavour to come up with the answers to the best of my ability. That is my biggest thrill.”
Unveiling the Richie Benaud and Sir Donald Bradman portrait at the Bradman Museum
And so it began, Down Under. Initially connecting with John Alvarez, who owned a memorabilia collection, Thomas would paint action shots on cricket bats, before linking with Julian Oakley, whose company, The Art of Cricket, gave Dave a lot of work throughout the 90’s, before introducing him to former Bradman Museum Director, Richard Mulvaney.
“That is basically where the interest in cricket and the cricketing portraits started,” he recalls. It is serendipitous, therefore, that the rugby-loving Welshman, with a budding interest in cricket, lives a short drive from the Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame; a burgeoning passion for the game, set to turn into an abiding and thriving partnership with the Museum.
Commissioned by the Museum to paint the portraits of the twenty Greats of the Game – the first of those painted in early 2013 – Dave has loved every minute of his association with the team at Bowral.
The Little Master: Sachin Tendulkar is part of the Greats of the Game Series
“It’s been wonderful. I get on extremely well with everyone there – I’ve got a great relationship with everyone and in particular Rina (Executive Director, Rina Hore).”
As an artist, the experience has been fulfilling as Dave has had the chance to sit down with some of the world’s best cricketers – including Dennis Lillee and Sir Vivian Richards – to paint their portraits. For those who have passed away, he has sought body doubles and completed extensive research and referencing to ensure a stunning likeness. Now, with nineteen of the twenty complete, the end is in sight, but one man remains elusive.
“I’ve only got Shane Warne to go. We are trying to tie him down which is never easy,” Dave laughs.
Bill Leak's portrait of Bradman, which has provided inspiration for the Greats of the Game Series
The series, which Dave believes will “knock people’s socks off” when it is fully unveiled as a feature of the Museum, will take its audience through time and around the world, celebrating the best players the game has seen. Taking inspiration from the Bill Leak portrait of Bradman as an older man, Dave reflects positively on the consistent theme that runs throughout the portraits.
“Collectively, we thought to use that (Bill Leak’s portrait of Bradman) as a theme. It means we are honouring the players in retirement and showcasing them in their heyday as well.”
'The Doctor' WG Grace portrait by Dave, painted in 2016
An incredible contribution to Australia’s home of cricketing memories, the significance of the Greats of the Game gallery is not lost on Dave, either, who confidently asserts that it is one of his greatest professional achievements.
“The thing that ultimately I will be most proud of, is what I’ve done here for the Bradman Museum,” he says. “The twenty Greats is quite an achievement… I think it will cause a lot of excitement for the public.”
The catalyst for a range of other sport-related commissions too, Dave’s connection with The Bradman Museum has spanned something of a cricketing network for him. Commissioned to paint the Cricket New South Wales Team of the Century, he has also completed works for the Sydney Cricket Ground as well as having had individual players seek him out for private portraits.
“Through the Museum, I get to know people, and they know me.”
Hopeful that he can continue to partner with the Bradman Museum once the Greats of the Game is complete, he believes there is scope to do so – particularly painting a similar series for the best female players.
However it pans out in the future, Dave has made an indelible contribution to the Museum; his work set to play an integral part in sharing the history of the game for generations to come.
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Perhaps a legacy of the lessons he learned as a young man in Milan, Dave continues to pursue a wide range of interests outside of his personal studio. Still very active, he cycles every morning – he had completed 25 kilometres before 7am the day we spoke to him – and is still teaching part time. With lessons set to resume in the coming weeks after an extended break for lockdown, Dave is looking forward to getting back. He teaches at both the Bowral District Art Society and at Camden, where he has had some students for upwards of thirty years.
“It has become a way of life for us both,” he smiles. “I go up every Tuesday and have a very solid relationship with the students who like coming along – they’ve been doing it for a very long time.”
It is a mark of the man that for Dave, these long and enduring friendships are the norm. Indicative of his warmth and personability, he builds connections – personally and professionally – with ease and actively seeks to maintain them.
This level of care and appreciation for others shines through in his work as he strives to express “the intangibles” of a person through every portrait he paints.
And if you know where to look, or even if you don’t, chances are you’ll come across a Dave Thomas work someplace, sometime soon.
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