February 4, 2016 by Leonie Andrews

The Titan Aram

Horticultural types have been aghast with excitement at the second flowering of a Titan Arum lily (Amorphophaĺlus titanum) in the precincts of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens within weeks (the first flowered at the end of December 2015).

This second bloom, named “Ganteng”, or ‘handsome’, in Indonesian, started flowering on Sunday. I caught the story on the Sunday news so, as we were already visiting the family in Adelaide, getting to the gardens became a priority.

Thousands of people have visited the Bicentennial Conservatory since the flower first opened so we were relieved to find that by the time we arrived on Wednesday there not many people there at all. I made two drawings of the plant, both from the overhead walkway in the conservatory.

The Titan Arum, pencil on grey-toned paper, 3 February 2016

In the second drawing i tried to capture some of the excitement and interest viewing the flower has generated.

I’m not sure how long the flower will be on display, as it is curling up almost as fast as it unfurled. I’d love to get back and have another go at drawing it.

January 4, 2016 by Leonie Andrews

A Little Pomp and Ceremony

Sculpture of Kin George V, Rex , Imperator 1927 by Sir Bertram Mackennal , pen and ink sketch, Old Parliament House Canberra

Today was the first sketch outing of 2016 of our Urban Sketchers Canberra group. We met in the foyer of Old Parliament House (now the Museum of Australian Democracy). There were sixteen of us, including two new members and a visitor. I was thrilled that we had such a good turn out while so many people are still on holidays.

I’d already decided to sketch the sculpture of King George V, which is located in Kings Hall. This sculpture portrays the King in the robes of the Order of the Garter and is the second casting of this statue, originally commissioned for New Delhi. I couldn’t capture the full regalia from the angle I was drawing (another day perhaps), but the King shows a very fine leg in his hose and garter.

Inspired by his decorative garments I decided to try another location to sketch parliamentary regalia, in the House of Representatives chamber. It turns out five others of our group were already in there, with some fine sketches being made (see more here).

Replicas of the Mace, foreground, and the Dispatch box, rear right, in the House of Representatives chamber, Old Parliament House. Pen and ink, 3 January 2015

Resting on one end of the main table is a replica of the Mace, the original of which is now in the new parliament building, in the House of Representatives chamber. At the far end of the table you can see one of the Dispatch boxes. I was amused to learn from one of the guides that these replicas of the Dispatch boxes were made when the movie ‘The Dish‘was filmed in the chamber. The film company kindly left them with the museum after they finished filming.

After all this pomp and ceremony I decided to make my final sketch in the Senate Opposition Meeting Room, where I could sink into the comfortable large lounges, much as many a Senator has no doubt done before me.

The Opposition Senate Meeting Room. Pencil sketch, koh-i-noor coloured pencils, 3 January

The upholstery is in the maroon coloured leather, that is used in the Senatorial wing of the building. Original furniture and fittings were designed by John Smith Murdoch, the architect of the building. I’m currently testing out my new Koh-i-nor Magic pencils (more in another post). I think that the paper I used was not perhaps very well-suited to these pencils. I will try paper with a bit more surface bite to it next time.

And finally here is our group, along with His Royal Highness.

Urban Sketchers Canberra at Old Parliament House, 3 January 2016

December 18, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

My Pretty Little Art Career

This is a ‘drawing the exhibition’ post but between my title and that of Grayson Perry’s exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney I thought you might lose interest before you even started.

We went to see My Pretty Little Art Career on the day it opened. This is the largest retrospective of Perry’s work which has been seen to date and it doesn’t disappoint. If Perry is unfamiliar to you then it’s probably easier to let him introduce himself. “anybody can enjoy art and anybody can have a life in the arts – even me! For even I, an Essex transvestite potter, have been let in by the artworld mafia.”

Perry has a broad career spanning his initial work making ceramics and sculptural works up to his recent appearances on television where he has produced machine-woven ‘tapestries’ based on the English class system, and a series on the contemporary portrait. If you are a fan of the shows then the pieces you see on the TV are all here, as well as more recent works.

detail, Map of Truths and Beliefs, 2011, tapestry, 290 x 690 cm

What I really wanted to see are the pots that Perry makes. Subversive and sometimes shocking in their explicit language and images, they transcend the stereotype of a ‘decorative’ pottery and are a deliciously pointed response to people who look askance at the ‘minor’ arts. (Apologies for all the quotes, but this is a man / transvestite who likes to demolish art world stereotypes).

detail, Precious Boys, glazed ceramic 53 x 53 cms

I was thrilled to see one of my all-time favourites, Dolls at Dungerness in the room. There is also a place where you can watch a time-lapse sequence of Perry hand building and decorating a number of these pots. I liked that he had a small sign sitting next to his wheel reminding him to turn the camera on.

I was disappointed that there were no places to sit in the early rooms of Perry’s work, because I had to skip drawing those pots so artfully arranged in their individual display cases. There wasn’t enough room to move other than to circle around each cabinet to read all the details incised or printed on the pot’s surfaces.

The one place you can get a seat is in the large tapestry rooms. One of these rooms included a very large pot called What’s Not to Like, on which Perry’s teddy, Alan Measles, glazed in gold, surmounts a pot covered with a plethora of desirable consumer goods.

What’s Not to Like, glazed ceramic, 2007, pot 0 x 60 x 90 cms , lid 40 x 40 x 62 cms. My sketch Koh-i-noor Magic pencil on Leuchtturm 1917 Whitelines Link book

As always I really enjoy seeing an artist’s sketchbooks and process displayed. Perry’s notebooks were fascinating to look at. Here’s just one page.

Sketchbook, Grayson Perry

Perry says of his sketchbooks that “Drawing in my sketchbook is an almost daily activity …. When I put an idea down I take it very seriously. I don’t waste ideas and there will come a point when I will make a work from the drawing. I have a backlog of categories of objects I want to make.” I look at my own practice and think about this statement. I have many sketchbooks and rarely re-visit them. How many of my ideas are going to waste? All guilty parties please raise their hand.

Perry’s teddy, Alan Measles and his alter-ego Claire appear in many works. I was particularly taken by these two small sculptures.

Prehistoric Gold Pubic Alan Dogu, 2007, glazed ceramic, two parts; left 12.5 x 10.5 x 5.5 cm and; right 12.8 x 10 x4 .8 cm

And just because I can here is the X-92 that Claire has been photographed with.

X-92, glazed ceramic, 1999, 84 x 58 x 18 cms

This exhibition is highly recommended as is the accompanying catalog . (Rest assured I’ve given up rote buying of exhibition catalogs).

If you would like to read some other views of the exhibition I can recommend Paint Later’s post. If you want to read some more you can read Jacky Klein’s 2009 monograph Grayson Perry, (Thames and Hudson).

November 8, 2015November 8, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

The Big Draw at the NGA

Today was the annual Big Draw event held at the National Gallery of Australia. Several members of Urban Sketchers Canberra met up for the event and joined the crowds. Just inside the front door patrons were serenaded by the Ukelele Republic of Canberra band, singing and playing their way through a wide ranging repertoire.

The Ukulele Republic of Canberra at the National Gallery of Australia, pen and ink, 8 November 2015

The Ukulele Republic of Canberra (most of them), at the National Gallery of Australia, pen and ink, 8 November 2015

There were eight activities on offer and per usual it was impossible to get around them all in the three hour timeframe. First stop for me was Garden Country, in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art section. Here the work of Gertie Huddlestone was used as a starting point for a group work on the floor, or for some of us some individual inspiration.

Sketch after Gertie Huddlestone, We all share water, 2001, coloured pencil

I started to walk through to some other areas of the gallery, stopping to talk to the staff members overseeing other areas such as House and Garden, where some urban houses were being put together.

House and Garden, in the Australian Art section of the Gallery

I only managed to get to one other activity before the agreed meet-up time. At Is your face a mask, people were given an I-pad to sketch themselves over a ‘selfie’. This proved to be popular with everyone as you could get a print-out of your efforts at the end.

Self-portrait with masks, I-pad

Our group decided to get together for lunch over at the National Portrait Gallery where the crowds were not so busy. Here are our collective efforts from the morning.

USk Canberra sketches from the Big Draw

March 13, 2015March 15, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Dr Sketchy at the NGA

Last night we went to the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) for my first event with the Dr Sketchy group. We had only heard about this particular event earlier in the week, and were lucky to get tickets as it was quickly sold out. I had only read about these events before so if you haven’t been to one this is the risque version of a life drawing class and includes music, food, drink and entertainment as well as the opportunity to draw.

Last night’s theme was Impressions of Paris, inspired the current exhibition of the same name, featuring the works of the French artists Degas and Lautrec and Daumier. We had burlesque dancers and performers, ballet dancers and a body painting artist on hand.

Two versions of Ms Bandersnatch, either side of Ms Martini, pen and ink and Pitt pen on newspaper and Japanese paper, 12 March 2015

We started off with a series of two minute poses, which then developed into five and ten minute poses. There was a break where all the participants were asked to decorate a ‘pastie’, before we were all asked to continue on with the drawing.

I had forgotten how fast the pace can be with life drawing and I quickly whipped through the pages in my sketch book. I remembered my life drawing instructor reminding me that if it all became too much I could just focus on one part of the model’s anatomy, so here are Ms Bandersnatch’s feet.

Ms Bandersnatch’s feet, graphite, 12 March 2015

The drawing continued with short breaks for the models and artists, the finale of the evening was a twenty minute pose.

The body painting models, graphite, 20 minute pose, 12 March 2015

I was absolutely thrilled when the voluptuous Ms Garnet Martini selected my sketch as her favourite of the evening!

Ms Garnet Martini, channeling fin de siecle Paris, graphite, 12 March 2015

My reward was a set of pasties made by the talented Ms Rusty Blaze – thankfully Ms Bandersnatch was on hand to demonstrate how best to use my new accoutrements.

We had a great time and enjoyed the company of the other artists at our table. We plan to attend future events, as long as we can get in fast enough to buy the tickets.

leonieandrews

Tag / pencil drawing