Sunday, December 11, 2016

Drawn Upstairs 6 in Gallery 1



 8th - 18th December 2016



“The concept of Drawing is akin to a visionary process; it has an origin, a point of inception, and from here one’s ideas travel and are, in most cases, open ended -there are no rules; drawing can be as minimal as a breath and as complex as the wave structures and recording structures and recordings of the ocean.  Drawing is a kinaesthetic; a movement between points, a connection, a recognition and gesture of any idea, mark, trace, line, symbol, shape, medium, space or surface – everyone has their own language of the mark[1].



Is drawing still the foundation of art study?  If so, then NAS is offering it up in abundance.



Drawn Upstairs 6 showcases the work of attendees of The Drawing Room, a weekly self-directed drawing experience held at the Royal Exchange Hotel in Newcastle.  The invention of retired art teacher Anne Caddey, The Drawing Room is described as offering a relaxed drawing boudoir, a somewhat theatrical experience drawing nude and costumed models, with like-minded individuals, a relaxing chair and a glass of wine on hand if required.  Anne draws on inspiration from theatre performance, music, dance, circus, dramatic art and costumes to provide a stimulating alternative to a conventional drawing class.  While this experience may not suit everyone, Anne has formed a network of regulars along with casual visitors.  One visitor to Newcastle spoke to Anne of their enjoyment of the class and the fact that this kind of event was not available in the home of art, New York.  We have it exclusively in Newcastle.



Drawn Upstairs 6 also showcases the work of students in Peter Lankas’ tutored life-drawing class at the Newcastle Community Arts Centre (NCAC).  This class is usually booked out in advance and is not always able to cater for the numbers of people who want to study life-drawing under Peter Lankas’ experienced teaching.  The work of the 2016 students are on display as testament to the wide approaches a student can take with interpretation of the human body through drawing. This class will resume in the third week of January 2017 through to March at NCAC 246 Parry Street’s premises.

The artists are: Chris Bretherton, Matt Dougherty, Di Turnbull, Anne Swanson, Linda Alcorn, Jason Sar, Hide Kobaijashi, John Langley, Emma Gibbons, Greg Dickinson, Gwynne Jones, Julie Byles, Lyn Falkiner, Stella Kerr, Cathie Sawyer, Shelagh Lummis, Stephen Berry, Toni Amidy, Peter Lankas, Ronald Myers, David Titchmarsh, Cherie Wren, Jon Wilks, Chris Clifton, Allen Littlewood.


Selected works above by Anne Swanson, Chris Brereton, Chris Clifton, David Titshmarsh, Di Turnbull, John Langley, Stephen Berry, Toni Amity, Stella Kerr.
Information about The Drawing Room can be found at: http://royalexchangenewcastle.com.au/the-drawing-room/


[1] Interesting article on contemporary Australian Drawing authored by Dr Irene Barberis, artist, Director Global Centre for Drawing and Metasenta Publications, Co-Director Gallery Langford120 and Senior Lecturer RMIT


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