11 Talented Artists To Watch + Collect In 2026

Tam Cao

Realist painter Tam Cao finds inspiration in ‘basically everything’, exploring landscapes, figures, and interiors in his diverse art practice, which spans across traditional mediums like pencil, charcoal, and oils painting.

Having trained at the Julian Ashton art school and Florence Academy of Art, Tam is now based in Sydney and showcases his work at Flinders St Gallery and Project Gallery in Darlinghurst.

Price range: $1000 – $4000

Where to buy: At exhibition or email hello@tamcao.com.au for enquiries

Brianna Jamieson

Living and working in Aotearoa New Zealand, Brianna Jamieson’s artworks have a soft and calming aura, as she frequently channels ‘feel-good’ memories from her own life into paintings of shadowy flowers and tablescapes.

The fine arts graduate has been working as a painter since 2020, and is currently holding a solo exhibition at Sanderson Contemporary of works inspired by her days planting her local community garden.

Price range: $850 – $4600 NZD

Where to purchase: Kaukau, Sanderson Contemporary, or brianajamieson.com

Chantel de Latour

Chantel de Latour’s current work focuses on intimate interiors and landscapes that distil the atmosphere and qualities of particular places inhabited, visited and remembered.

The Melbourne-based artist spent her childhood in the south of France, and after living in a range of different landscapes across her life, she says her practice is all about exploring the unseen feelings imbued in these unique places.

Price range: from $800

Where to buy: Mars Gallery, or chanteldelatour.com

Charlotte Ghaie

After initially completing her fine arts degree in 2007, Charlotte Ghaie returned to making art and studying art therapy in more recent years after becoming a mother.

Now, themes of mothering, memories, childhood, and the mystical combine in her ethereal pastel drawings and paintings, using soft colours and amorphous figures that instantly capture your heart.

Price range: $240 – $5000

Where to buy: Sunday Salon

Maryanne Ken

Maryanne Ken works from Tjala Arts, an art centre in the Amata community, in far north-west South Australia on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

Her vibrant paintings tell stories of Tali (Sand Dune Country), drawing on her grandfather’s intimate knowledge of the landscapes and his journeys as a stockman.

Where to buy: Short St Gallery and APY Gallery

Drew Truslove

A rising talent in contemporary Australian art, Drew Truslove’s ink drawings capture nature in all its ‘messy’ and immersive beauty, with a current focus on bringing scenes from the Australian bush to life with his detailed sketches.

In 2024, Drew received the Award of Excellence in the Morgans Financial Prize for Emerging Painters and this year, you can see (and purchase) his work in not one, but two upcoming shows with Michael Reid Gallery.

Where to buy: Michael Reid Gallery, or directly through his Instagram and via email.

Jess Cochrane

Art has always played a big role in Australian painter Jess Cochrane’s life, from her days in art school to her life now working as an artist in London.

She creates joyful paintings made up of endless tiny brushstrokes to immortalise contemporary scenes from everyday life, playing with figurative portraits and classic still-life compositions that explore the intersection between art history and today’s world.

Where to buy: Sullivan+Strumpf

Julia Stewart

Julia Stewart studied at the renowned Victorian College of the Arts, and has exhibited her work at C3 Contemporary, Sunday Salon, and even in a group show with us at TDF Collect!

Experimenting with refreshing interpretations of landscapes and still-life settings, Julia’s playful use of colour and linear compositions beautifully blurs the lines between abstract and reality.

Price range: $600–$1500

Where to buy: Sunday Salon, or directly through her juliastewart.com.au and Instagram.

Max Ballard

Max Ballard is a painter and muralist whose quietly evocative works transform everyday interiors into contemplative, memory-laden scenes.

Drawing from the spaces that shape his daily life — his own home as well as those of friends and family — his paintings explore the emotional residue held within ordinary rooms. While he only graduated from university in 2021, Max has already held solo exhibitions across Australia, garnering plenty of attention for his oil paintings on canvas, and large-scale murals.

Where to buy: directly through Instagram or maxballard.art

Miffy Murray

Emerging Melbourne-based artist Miffy Murray got into painting with acrylics during the pandemic and has only continued to hone her craft since then.

With a talent for turning moments from her iPhone camera roll into sweet still-life paintings, Milly captures everyday occurrences like quiet morning coffee and pastry, or memories from trips overseas with her endearing style.

Price range: $50 – $4000

Where to buy: Directly through miffymurrayart.com

Nadera Rasulova

Having painted ‘seriously’ for the last eight years, Nadera Rasulova’s experience working in climate resilience has shaped her blossoming career as an artist.

Drawing on cultural themes and typographic patterns, Nadera creates layered abstract paintings that speak to our place in the changing environment. She’s been a finalist in several art prizes across Australia and having recently completed a residency supported by the Adelaide Fringe Foundation, her star is on the rise!

Price range: $450 – $1800

Where to buy: Directly through nadera.au