Portrait of Kangaroo No. 20 Drawing

‘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.