Portrait of Kangaroo No.8 Drawing

From a series of Large drawings titled "PORTRAIT OF KANGAROO” capturing the essence of characters found in various species of Australian Kangaroos using nothing but high energy expressive black lines on stark white paper. DRAWING STYLE: The style of the drawings can only be described as a controlled expression of raw energy released through a handful of black line types having the emotional qualities of rhythm, speed, direction, boldness and subtlety on a large scale that are unmistakably the signature expression of Michael Chorney. PROCESS: I work from observation and photographs doing preliminary drawings for the purpose of removing all elements that do not directly contribute to the character interpretation of the subject – the Kangaroo. WHY THE SUBJECT “PORTRAIT OF KANGAROO” When there is a native 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 natural progression of who I am. My partner Wink and I live on a country property on the banks of the Murray River in Mannum, South Australia some 80 km from Adelaide. We are country people though and though. 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 quit 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 the characters. After years of observation it is a natural progression as an artist for me to capture these characters in a series of expressive drawing. Other 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 will make my collection of drawings and I am find it highly rewarding to be breaking new grounds with a subject which is the icon of our country - Australia. MOUNTING : All drawings are on 280gsm premium quality paper fully glued to 4mm 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 right around to the back of the frame. D type picture hanging shackles are screwed onto the back of each frame with multi-strand wire providing a for solid hanging. CONSERVATION: Once each drawing is completed it is sprayed with a quality fixative to prevent any smearing and blemishing in the future. All exposed paper is also sprayed with 3 coats of fixative as well. This will allow for future cleaning without fear of soiling the paper.