James Daly (b. 1990) is an Australian artist based in Sydney, working in oils, focused on faces and figures.

He builds his paintings from thick, often straight layered brush strokes, with almost no blending. Each form comes from a change in colour or value, not a softened edge. 

From across the room the strokes resolve into a face; up close it comes apart into separate marks, undeniably thick oil paint. The paintings move between both readings: the depiction of the person, and the record of the movements that made them.

Rather than aiming for photographic likeness, his paintings embrace spontaneity and gestural energy, with visible brushstrokes, scraped surfaces, and areas of thick impasto leaving areas deliberately unresolved. The viewer completes what the painting leaves open, so each person's encounter with the work is a personal one.

The result is work that feels alive, immediate, and deeply connected to the human touch that created it.

Find out more about the philosophy behind his work and process in this post.