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

September 17, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Drawing the Exhibition – Myth + Magic 2

The 16th of September was Papua New Guinea’s Independence Day, so what better way to celebrate than return to the Myth + Magic exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia. This time I also managed to drag some friends along, as well as my partner, so we all set about sketching.

My first target was the Orator’s Stool from the East Sepik. I started with the face and enjoyed working with the deep shadows cast by the dramatic lighting.

Orator's Stool, East Sepik, PNG, study in graphite pencil with watercolour added later, 16 September 2015

Orator’s Stool, East Sepik, PNG, NGA 2008.173, mid 20th cent. prior to 1953, study in graphite pencil with watercolour added later, 16 September 2015

It was only after I’d finished this first drawing and went to record the details of the work, that I found the carvings of the crocodile and bird on the reverse of the stool.

I still had some 20 minutes before our meet-up time so I went and did a ‘quick’ study of this ancestor plaque.

Ancestor Plaque, East Sepik Province, Keram River, early 20th cent. prior to 1920, Museum Victoria X104676, graphite, with added watercolour, 16 September 2015

This work has a very strong presence. It is made of fibre, largely for the backing and is covered with thick grey mud. It is decorated with lots of embedded pig tusks and shells. The image wears a headband of cassowary feathers. I haven’t captured much of its ‘presence’ so I will try to return and focus on this piece again.

After the drama of the exhibition space it was somewhat of a relief to retreat to the airy lightness of the Members Lounge for lunch. Afterwards, our friends decided that they wanted to look at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait galleries so we headed off there for a final sketch. I sat out near the entrance to draw the giant, 12 metres long, fish trap, that hangs above the gallery foyer.

Mandjabu (Fish Trap), 2010, created with assistance from George Ganyjbala, fabricated in aluminium and paint by Urban Arts Projects, Acc2010.667, graphite with added watercolour, 16 September 2015

I didn’t realise that I was being observed, but this photo gives you an idea of the scale of the work.

The loneliness of the long-distance sketcher, 16 September 2015, National Gallery of Australia

July 16, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Drawing the exhibition – The Daylight Moon

It is an amazing thing to drive for an hour through a landscape, to arrive in a room where that same landscape has been abstracted into 10 works of art.

Looking eastwards across the dry bed of Lake George

The Goulburn Regional Gallery is currently showing, The Daylight Moon, a collection of 10 works by Rosalie Gascoigne. Gascoigne was born in New Zealand 1917 and died in Australia in 1999, (she lived in Australia from 1943). Gascoigne is, arguably, the greatest Australian landscape artist of the late 20th century. The ten works have been selected to show Gascoigne’s response to Lake George. The Lake is the major feature on the drive between Canberra and Goulburn. It is known throughout our region as the disappearing lake, as the water levels change from full to totally dry depending on the local rainfall.

The gallery layout is simple. Partitions have been placed to square up the centre of the gallery. The centre of that space is occupied by a large work called A Piece to Walk Around, (1981), which is a composition of dry thistle stems, thousands of them, laid in a simple grid pattern directly on the floor. In the gallery this takes the corresponding position of the lake as the central theme of the exhibition. The remaining works are hung on the surrounding walls, with space to breathe, as is appropriate to the sense of space that is present in the land around Lake George.

My immediate response to the gallery space was to stop and take a deep and relaxing breath, then let the art flow around me. I have seen many of Gascoigne’s pieces over the years, but those included in this show were largely unfamiliar. If you haven’t seen Gascoigne’s work you should know that her pieces are composed from found materials, such as corrugated iron and old timber road signs, that she collected from small town dumps in the area.

Gascoigne’s ability to visualise a work of art out of these basic materials remains a constant surprise. She described her process as follows “… you’ve got to use what you’ve got and you’ve got to fake it and fake it and fake it, until suddenly you personally see it. And whether anybody else sees it is of course immaterial.”*

I realised that I needed to slow down enough to really take in the work. So I borrowed a seat so I could sit down and draw one of the works, High Country, (1999).

Rosalie Gascoigne’s High Country, 1999, graphite, 15 July 2015

These are my notes made in the gallery, but I couldn’t resist copying the drawing onto watercolour paper and adding some colour once I had returned home.

Rosalie Gascoigne’s High Country 1999, painted corrugated iron panels on wood, 134 x 121 cm, watercolour on photocopy

What did reveal itself as I sat and focused on this work were the shadows cast by undulations of the corrugated iron on the wall and even on the supporting wood panel. Other works, such as White Garden, (1995), cast similar lacy shadows. With closer examination you could also see where Gascoigne had worked with the original piece of iron, cutting and rearranging the individual segments into a complete work.

A smaller work that particularly captured my eye was Poplars 19 (1996-97).

Poplars 19, 1996-97, Rosalie Gascoigne, 60 x 62 cm, linoleum on wood with retro-reflective strip, collection of Tarra Warra Museum of Art

This is a show that invites contemplation. It would be too easy to breeze in, glance at the walls, do a quick turn around the central floor work and walk out again. Please don’t.

If you are a local you have until 22 August to see this exhibition. Highly recommended, along with the drive through the country.

Poplars, Wollogorang Creek, NSW

* Rosalie Gascoigne, interview with Stephen Fenely, Express, ABC, 4 December 1997, excerpt quoted in the exhibition catalogue.

Goulburn Regional Art Gallery
Cnr Church & Bourke Sts. Goulburn NSW 2580
t 48 234494 | f 48 234456 | e artgallery@goulburn.nsw.gov.au
Open Monday-Friday, 10 am – 5pm Free entry. Saturday 1-4pm

July 6, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Dr Sketchy and the blue woman

Last week we went to our second Dr Sketchy event at the National Gallery. It seems odd that such an event takes place withing the formality of Gandel Hall, however everyone enjoys themselves, the burlesque is well done and the art making fun.

This time we had two male models which provided different body shapes and poses to come to terms with.

Three two minute poses, graphite, 2 July 2015

We worked up from two and five minute poses to longer poses at the end of the evening.

Two, five minute poses, graphite, 2 July 2015

And then there was the blue woman. Two of the models were covered in body paint and despite the colour, or perhaps because of it, I found it much easier to come to grips with the shape of their bodies when I drew them. One of the women was painted blue (not Yves Klein blue I hasten to add) and wore a white wig. I really enjoyed drawing her.

The Blue Woman, five minute pose, graphite, 2 July 2015

Per usual the gallery restriction on media meant I was limited in how I could respond to the colourful models. One of the other people at our table gave me some chalk pastels and pastel paper which allowed me to make a more colourful drawing.

The Blue Woman, chalk pastel, 2 July 2015

I enjoy these evenings as I come away with a sense of having had a really good artistic workout.

February 21, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Go figure

Drawing people continues to be the steepest learning curve for me. I like Hallie Batemen‘s comment that people on mobile phones are good subjects to draw as they are generally oblivious to you when they are talking on the phone. Last week I discovered another good category of people to sketch – smokers! I know this sounds odd but since the introduction of smoke free environment laws in the ACT smokers are exiled to congregate in small clusters, outside, away from offices and shops. I discovered such a sad cluster across the road from where I was having a cup of coffee early this week. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Two Smokers, Tuggeranong, pen and ink, ball point pen, 16 February 2015

And it doesn’t stop at smokers either. I know its not exactly life drawing, but I’m also happy to take advantage when passing by suitable figurative sculptures. I spotted this small sculpture by Degas in the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) a few days ago and made a drawing of her as well.

Grand Arabesque 3rd Position, Edgar Degas, bronze with patina, 1880’s, pencil, 20 February 2015

I must say that Degas gave her arms a more albatross-like extension than they would have had in real life, (I want you to know it isn’t my wonky drawing). I also managed to capture a page of cafe-goers in the NGA cafe on the same day.

At the National Gallery of Australia cafe, 20 February 2015, ball point pen

Practice, practice, practice!

leonieandrews

Tag / pencil