Recently, I did some work at the Essendon primary School sketching the schoolyard.
I have done alot of location work in the form of pen and ink sketches over recent years; beaches, cityscapes and suburban life have been my focus. This is the first time I have ventured into a space that is a little less public than usual.
Interesting stuff happens when you work under the gaze of those around you. The sheilding walls of the studio are suddenly opened and a degree of vulnerability creeps in, which at times, can wind its way into the work itself.
As an artist, you are used to looking at others. But as an artist working out in public, the tables turn, and it then becomes you, the artist, that is being looked at. Sometimes it feels more like a performance.
One of the reasons I like working outdoors, amongst people is that it forces you to commit; to commit to a time and place, to commit to the line that is made on the surface, be it paper or canvas or whatever. It forces you to commit to those around you, you are being watched, there is an interest in what you produce and what you see. People want to see you follow through, they want to know what you think of them and their world.
I like being able to take something that I can see moving and happening before my eyes and being able to take note of it, the fleetingness of a certain moment, punch it out and capture it into a static thing on a flat surface.
Given the rapidity, speed and pace of daily life there is a perverse sense of satisfaction that I can in some way capture and hold onto these lost moments through the simplest of means in the use of mediums such as basic writing tools, ink and paper.
Several community artists will have their works available and on display alongside the works of the E.P.S. school children.
Where: Essendon Primary School, Raleigh Street, Essendon
Friday November 6th 3;30pm til 7pm & Saturday 7th November 2pm til 5pm