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Back to (Art) School

Since the release of Arc Raiders, I’ve been inspired. The concept art from that game is mind-blowingly good — the kind of artwork I’ve always been drawn to but never been able to do, because it comes from fundamentals like oil painting, architectural perspective, life drawing, etc. All the things I didn’t do in my art journey.

I developed my own particular style because of that — always drifting away from reality, drawing arms as tentacles, etc., simply because I couldn’t draw realism. My parents were super religious, so I was never allowed to join the life drawing classes at school, and I never learnt those fundamentals when I was young. So now it’s time to go back to the drawing board (lol) and start filling the gaps in my fundamental art knowledge.

This is honestly really hard, because everything I’m learning now is stuff I avoided at all costs… probably because it was hard.

I’m starting with 10 minutes a day of life drawing (using a life-drawing app), and eventually I’ll join the local life-drawing classes. Plus more time experimenting with blocking in shapes and colour.

These images are just the beginning. I’m posting them here as a reference point to see how I can develop these skills.

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Mass exodus

Download audio

I've been inspired and started writing ambient soundtracks again.
This one inspired by Arc Raiders which is my new obsession. 

If anyone is keen, I'll add a music page where you can download this kind of audio for FREE and use in your own projects. Let me know. 

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Texture exploration

Texture Experiment 005 
A4. Acrylic on 300gsm Water Colour Paper 
Tools: Sponge. Brush. Posca

#damienquick #houseofnormal #art

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Blood Reign

Water Colour , Acrylic pouring paint and Posca on A4 300 GSM Water Colour Paper. 

#bloodreign #DamienQuick #ArtistBrisbane #SamfordValleyArtist #HouseofNormal #TheSketchbook

So Thirsty - A Spider Tale

Short random idea that popped into my head — a spider trying to make a web, but it's far too dry to do so. Originally, I was testing out a trial of Adobe Animate, but I ended up going back to my trusted Clip Studio Paint EX.
Vox recorded by me using Audacity, and final edit completed in DaVinci Resolve 20.

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Monster Cheese - Watercolour on Paper

Monster Cheese - A4 - Watercolour, Polychromos Pencil & Posca Pens. 

A woodland creature that preys on unsuspecting birds as they fly by. It also bears an uncanny resemblance to nacho cheese — hence the name, Monster Cheese.

Watch the entire process Live Streamed on the House of Normal Youtube Channel. 



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Primordial Soup 2001 Now available for purchase

This piece from way back in 2001 is finally avalable for purchase. I have a bad habit of hoarding artwork which has unfortunately led to the destruction of most of my legacy artwork due to flood damage. This one managed to survive and you can grab the original or order poster prints.

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Southern Forest Framed and ready for Ipswich Art Award

Well, it’s been a busy few weeks! Most of my artwork has now been professionally scanned and is ready for printing — and this bad boy just received a professional framing job in preparation for the 2025 Ipswich Art Awards coming up in November.

Featuring a premium double mat with UltraVue UV70 non-reflective glass, it not only eliminates glare but also provides 70% UV protection, helping preserve the artwork in its original state.

This was especially important for this piece, as it combines matte and gloss finishes to create a sense of depth and a subtle 3D effect. With this glass, the shifting reflections and layered textures remain beautifully visible from every angle.


Ipswich Art Awards

  • Ipswich Art Awards 2025: Awards Night

    8 November 2025

  • Ipswich Art Awards 2025: Exhibition

    Open to the general public from 8 November 2025 until 15 November 2025 between 10:00am - 4:00pm daily.

For more details please see HERE





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Primordial Soup Completed - Plus Update.

After weeks of work this piece is finally completed. I've never used all these mediums together and it was quite a challenge, however I'm very happy with the result. 
Airbrushed Acrylic Pigmented Ink, Layers of brushed thinned pouring paint and metallics, Posca Pen outlines and finally Polychromos pencil shading on the background. This gives a super Matte background and gloss metallic foreground. 
I also noticed the highlights really pop in different colour light. 
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UPDATE
This along with several other pieces are currently at Prolab receiving the premium scan treatment which will allow for future limited and signed print runs. 
Also the Southern Forest piece is in for framing and has been entered into the Ipswich Art Awards Coming up in November. 
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I've been a bit quite over the past month however many shenanigans and goings on in the background. 
By the end of September I will have merged both websites. 
House of normal and the sketchbook completely onto the Fourthwall framework. Then both web addresses will link here. 
The store (currently Empty) will have a complete overhaul and both original and limited print stock will be added over the coming fortnight. 
This allows for complete store integration into my Twitch Live Streams. 
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On another note. Australia Post has temporarily suspended postal services to the United States due to newly imposed Tariffs. 
I hope this will be rectified soon and I will keep the store updated. 
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Chat soon. 

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Primordial Soup - Progress

I have been working on this one over  the past week. Reminiscent of the previous 'baller worm' drawings over the past 20 years and seems to be a repetitive theme. This one's almost done. Acrylic pigmented inks with the airbrush, brushed pouring paint, metallic washes, posca pens and Polychromos pencils. 
Once this is finished I will be heading to the art reproduction house to get several pieces professionally scanned at national Art gallery quality, which will allow for limited archival print runs, stay tuned.