PSSST! New “Pictures of summer” watercolours have just been added - check them out!

SALT

Solo show at Northern Beaches Gallery, opening Saturday 13th September, 5pm - 7pm

The exhibition ‘SALT’ is a song to the hedonism of the ocean. From swimming to diving, to floating or just gazing at the horizon, Rory’s work transports us to the water’s edge and celebrates our connections to the elements.

Rory’s paintings take a visceral approach to oils – the surface sings with impasto mark making and the raw colours capture the freshness of the sea.

This exhibition brings together a major new body of larger work using heavy impasto oil paint that appears abstract up close but resolves in clarity as the viewer steps away.

More details: Northern Beaches Gallery website

In other recent news…

Winner winner, chicken dinner (take 2)

Rory has won First Prize in the 2025 RAS Sydney Easter Show Arts and Crafts competition for the Maritime/Seascape section with his impasto oil painting ‘Touching the wall’.

Enormous thanks to the Royal Agricultural Society for the award and thanks too to the mystery buyer of the painting.

See some photos from the ceremony here.

Winner winner, chicken dinner

Northern Beaches Gallery - Summer Art Prize

I was honoured and dumbfounded to have won first place in the 2024 Northern Beaches Gallery Summer Art Prize with my impasto oil painting “Swirling solitude”.

Enormous thanks to the judges , to the many well wishers and to Wayne and crew at Northern beaches Gallery. I am pretty chuffed :-)

The exhibition was held in November 2024 at Northern Beaches Gallery, 5/161 South Creek Road in Cromer, NSW.

Take a look at some photos from the exhibition.

The prize includes a solo show with the gallery, so I look forward to sending out information in the new year.

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Thank you for your support,

Rory

Welcome!

This site features art work created by Rory OBrien, a Sydney figurative painter working in oils, acrylics and watercolours.

Browse the artworks by categories, check out previous commissions, and keep up to date with events.
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Buy any of the available paintings instantly from this website. We will be in touch regarding shipping and delivery.

Rory is expanding his painting practice and online presence – posting regularly on Instagram as @roryobrienart. You will also find many of these works showcased on Saatchi Art and on Blue Thumb online art platforms.