Australian artist Matt Doust has died in Los Angeles from an epileptic seizure.
He was 29.
Considered one of Australia's best young artists, Doust's portrait of Perth model Gemma Ward made the Archibald Prize shortlist in 2011 and after moving to LA the same year Hollywood's elite became fans of his work.
Comedian Jim Carrey and Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke were among buyers of his haunting, hyperrealistic portraits.
Los Angeles art gallery, Thinkspace, is hoping to go ahead with a planned Doust exhibition on September 7 "as a celebration of Matt's life and work".
"Our hearts go out to the family of Matt Doust who left us all much too early last evening at the young age of 29-years-old," Thinkspace announced on its Facebook page.
"Sadly Matt battled epilepsy his whole life and a bad seizure took him from us sometime yesterday evening."
In an interview with Homme magazine last year the Perth-raised artist spoke about how he was financially stable and had consistent work in Australia, so moved to LA because he did not "want to be comfortable anymore".
Doust, however, told the magazine he "took a lot of drugs" when he first arrived.
"I was a coke fiend for a while, and just got lost in the elevated party situation of Los Angeles," Doust said.
