where Saltwater meets Gadigal Land Drawing

Richard Briggs is a designer based in Sydney and loves drawing. Before any lines are drawn though, he has a particular interest in forming an understanding about what makes a place unique or interesting, and how this can translate into an artwork. Richard uses drawing to explore our surroundings, both urban and natural, bringing the viewer into a world of intrigue, curiosity, and calm. These line based artworks are experiential and spatial, with a graphic and pattern based quality derived from simplification of our often complex surroundings. Importantly, they also aim to tell numerous stories about a particular place, it’s people and are community and site specific. Richard has experience of working with a range of clients and stakeholders for the past 10 years. He has worked on large scale public artworks with NSW based Councils such as the City of Sydney, the Inner West Council, and the Government of Victoria. Richard has also worked with private clients such as Lend Lease and Dexus Property Group on both public and private commissions. He has exhibited at galleries in Sydney and works closely with clients to create artworks differing in size and medium that connect with the viewer bringing joy and a playfulness into everyday life. Briggs’s studio is the street, the landscape, and the communities in which he works in. It’s this approach to drawing in the field that allows for a filtered response and to what he sees, capturing the essence of place without drawing everything. He has taught drawing in both private practise, public forums and has helped co-run a course at the University of New South Wales in Sydney called street life studies which helps built environment students explore cities using drawing as a tool. He has also run workshops both locally and internationally with the global group urban sketchers, which encourages drawing on location for people from a range of skills and backgrounds. Through drawing, Richard aspires to connect with people and place.