‘PORTRAIT OF KANGAROO’
Drawings of Kangaroos by Michael Chorney

Murray Bridge Regional Gallery
27 Sixth Street Murray Bridge
October 16 – November 27  2016

Exhibition opened by Christopher Orchard

christopherorchard-bioimg-840x560

      Listen to his opening speach

CHRISTOPHER ORCHARD b.1950.

Represented in Australia by BMGArt Adelaide, South Australia. Wagner Gallery Sydney NSW. Stephen
Rosenberg Fine Art, New York.

Website

About

Photographs from the opening October 2016

 

Description

‘PORTRAIT OF KANGAROO’ is an up-close and personal series of large drawings of Kangaroos that capture the Character of our national icon.

My intention in this series is to portray these animals as individuals, reflecting their unique personalities using a juxtaposition of black and white lineal expression for dramatic energy.

I believe that my contribution to this subject brings a fresh and unique understanding to the Australian Kangaroo, a subject which traditionally has been depicted in symbolic form.

My drawing style is highly expressive with a strong black and white accent placing great importance on clean white space against line-work of graphite , charcoal and wash on frame stretched 200gsm paper.

 

Why the Subject: ‘PORTRAIT OF KANGAROO’

When there is a desire to do work with a need for expression, we all draw from our lifestyle and interest. Inevitably very few of us can successfully pretend to be something we are not. To be genuine, we need to be true to ourselves which for me is my primary interest in nature hence drawing subject matter from nature is a progression of who I am.

OBJECTIVE:

The drawing series ‘PORTRAIT OF KANGAROO’ has one objective:
To create a collection of large drawings which capture the essence of facial characters and personalities, of various species of Australian Kangaroos using high energy expressive black lines on white paper.

DRAWING STYLE:

The style of the drawings can only be described as a controlled expression of raw energy released through black line of various types that together have the emotional qualities of rhythm, speed and direction – This is my signature expression.

The drawings are large enough to facilitate the full bodily swing of my arm. This I find necessary for exploring a variety of fast bold ‘line’ dynamics. The ‘lines’ have a poetic energy of weight, motion and direction. ‘Line’ placement within a composition is finite, as any attempt of correction manifests itself as a fault just as a wrong note played in a musical composition jars the ear.

MEDIUM :

Graphite, charcoal/Conte on premium quality white paper stretched and glued on timber frame.

MOUNTING :

All drawings are on 280gsm premium quality paper fully glued to plywood or MDF timber sheeting. The sheeting is first framed as per an art stretcher timber frame which is glued and screwed to maintain rigidity. Before the paper is glued and shrunk onto the panel both sides are sealed with a water-based PVA white paint to prevent any movement /distortion of the panel by atmospheric moisture. The edges of the panel are slightly bevelled and the paper is wrapped around to the back of the frame. Each drawing is then sealed with a fixative spray to prevent smearing and provide a certain level of physical protection to the paper.

 

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Kangaroo drawing 8 by Michael Chorney

Title:Portrait of Kangaroo No. 8
Year: 2015
Size: 1720mm x 1720mm
Medium: Conte and graphite on frame stretched paper.
My Background story to this collection of drawings.

My partner Wink (Annette Dempsey) and I, live on a country property on the banks of the Murray River, in Mannum in South Australia, some 80 km from Adelaide.

We are country people through and through. For many years we have surrounded ourselves with nature, with Wink in particular, having a passion in rescuing injured and orphaned animals. As a result we have a considerable number of native animal living on the property out of which there are 9 kangaroos. These kangaroos were hand raised and have been with us since they were infants with no hair. This of course has made them extremely quiet animals that accept us as family. Their trust in us makes them perfect subjects for observation and study.

I believe that living with these animals in such close proximity has given me a real insight into their characters.

After years of observation it is a natural progression for me to capture these characters in a series of expressive drawing.

Research has shown that the subject of kangaroos, although often used by Australian artists has never been explored in this manner, size or to this degree. This in itself makes my collection of drawings unique and has been a rewarding challenge to be breaking new grounds as an artist.

This body of work is now on exhibition in at the ‘Murray Bridge Regional Gallery’ till November 27th of 2016.

Contact me on +61 408 813 453 or email to michael@chorney-studios.com.au