Staked Upon High

Jonathan Osmond is a 43-year-old abstract painter currently living and working in Newcastle, NSW, where he has been based for the past 13 years. Originally from the UK, his practice began during A-Level studies at Peter Symonds College, where he participated in group exhibitions and received formal recognition for his work.

In the late 1990s he held a series of solo exhibitions in Winchester at a student-run gallery, The Corner House Bar, and The Black Boy Pub, each offering a raw and unfiltered space to engage with the public. He also exhibited in a group show at Winchester School of Art, deepening his exploration of abstraction within a more academic context.

Working primarily in acrylics and mixed media, his paintings are process-driven explorations of memory, energy, and internal landscape. Influenced by sound, atmosphere, and the imperfections of lived experience, his work blends instinctive gesture with layered texture to create compositions that feel both raw and resolved.

Developed by Newcastle living, his work is shaped by coastal textures, soundscapes, and lived memory. Each piece is a balance between spontaneity and control, an invitation into a more meditative space of imagination and dreaming. After years of private practice, he is now reconnecting with the public side of art, returning to exhibition, collaboration, and creative dialogue through abstract painting.

Recently, Jonathan was a finalist in the 2026 National Emerging Art Prize.