Gold Coast–based artist Bec Talbot creates painterly style abstracts that feel deeply grounded yet quietly joyful. Paintings that carry the rhythm of the coast, the calm of nature and the resilience of lived experience.
With textured layers, gestural movement and a signature use of sand mixed into paint, Bec’s art is as much about feeling as it is form. Let’s chat!
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Creativity has always been part of Bec’s life, even if it’s taken a few scenic detours along the way.
“I live on the Gold Coast, but am originally from Western Sydney,” says Bec. “I am a Mum to 3 amazing kids and a cavoodle named Harlow.
“My husband is also an artist and we are about to release a clothing line featuring some of his paintings. Lately we’ve been sharing a studio space, something we’re not used to! It’s a good test for our marriage!
“I have been known to try many creative ventures over the years, and admit to being easily distracted with a good side quest!
“I originally trained as a primary school teacher, and aside from teaching art in the classroom, I had very little formal art experience.”
Bec found her passion in art through life’s hardest moment.
“Like many people, my artistic journey was sparked by a major life moment,” Bec recalls. “At 39, I was diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer. I left my teaching job and made a conscious decision to explore the world of art.
“During surgery, recovery and treatment, I couldn’t work, and I needed something that would give my days structure, purpose, and a sense of myself again.
“I spent countless hours experimenting with different techniques and watching online tutorials during treatment and COVID. Very quickly I realised that when I was painting, I wasn’t thinking about anything else.
Art became a place where my mind could rest — a form of mindfulness, therapy and a quiet joy I didn’t know I needed.
What began as a passion, turned into a full-time practice. Simply for just having a go.
“Art is now very much my full-time focus… an obsession actually!” smiles Bec. “When I first got started, I built up a collection of works and approached Simone, the owner of a local interior design store called Kira & Kira.
“They loved it! My work suited their style and they’ve been supporting me ever since. And that’s really how I became an artist — one brushstroke at a time, simply following the moments that helped to both distract and make me feel alive.
“I now work mostly from my home studio. I still travel back and forth to Sydney for clinical trial visits, so working for myself allows that flexibility. It keeps me closer to the kids and school runs.”
To create her painterly style abstracts, Bec adds an interesting natural element.
“I’d describe my art as gestural, painterly style abstracts. I love working on large pieces. They really make such an impact.
“A lot of my inspiration comes from the time I’ve spent in nature, especially by the hinterland and the beach. During a really transformative period of my life, I found myself drawn to the ocean and the slow, grounding rhythms of being outside,” Bec recalls.
Those moments of quiet — the colours, the textures, the way light settles on the water — became a huge part of my healing.
“Now they naturally flow into my work. My abstracts are less about depicting a place and more about capturing the feeling of those moments: the calm, the clarity, the sense of returning to myself.
“My creative process is really intuitive and playful. I never go in with a strict plan. I respond to colour, texture and whatever mood I’m in that day.
“One of the biggest parts of my process is adding sand into my paint. I started doing it during my healing, when I was spending so much time at the beach, and it just stuck. The sand brings this beautiful sense of place with it. That grounded, salty, sun-on-your-skin feeling we all know.
“It gives the work texture and a bit of grit, but it also reminds me why I paint in the first place. I build the layers slowly, letting each mark guide the next, and I love the moment the piece starts to take on its own personality.
“For me, creating is a mix of instinct, movement and joy. The sand keeps me connected to the coast, and every artwork ends up carrying a little piece of that energy.”
Her colour palette is all about natural hues… with a burst of colour.
“My favourite mediums to paint with are acrylics, oil sticks and oil pastels. When it comes to my preferred colour palette, it has changed,” Bec explains.
“When I began, my favourite colours to create with were in a very grounded, earthy place. Colours that helped me feel connected and steady.
“I still lean into those natural hues, but recently I’ve started weaving in more vibrant pops of colour.
That shift isn’t about things becoming easier, it’s simply about celebrating the fact that I’m still here.
“Those brighter colours feel like small moments of joy, defiance, and gratitude. They’re my way of honouring life in all its complexity — the hard, the beautiful, and everything in between.”
While art is her career, Bec still aims for her work to be intentional and joyful.
“I had started this year with the plan of it being my year of saying ‘yes’,” Bec says. “I was offered some great opportunities but for various reasons I had to decline. It made me realise that unless it was a ‘hell yes!’ then I needed to say no.
“I am working on making sure I remember why I started painting, and keeping my life relatively stress free. In saying that, I do work best when there is a deadline. I’m known for leaving things to the last minute!
“I am also very proud of the collaboration I did in partnership with Drift Trading Co. They are a local candle making business and we created a candle featuring my artwork. We donate 10% of each candle to the NORTH Foundation, the charity partner of NORTH STAR VNP.
“This charity gives patients across Australia fast-tracked access to new international cancer clinical trials and is helping accelerate a cure for cancer. This is a cause very close to my heart because it’s connected to the hospital where I access my clinical trial. The candles can be purchased on my website.”
Photography by Michelle Swan — Eyes of Love
Big thank you to Bec for sharing her inspirational story and showing us the beauty of painterly style abstracts. You can purchase her artworks and candles on her website, or take a look behind the scenes in her studio on Instagram.
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