STUDIO education resource - Museums & Galleries NSW

JOHN WOLSELEY
JOHN WOLSELEY
MELBOURNE, VIC
John Wolseley’s studio is a large room in his apartment in St. Kilda,
Melbourne. His preferred studio, however, is just about anywhere in the
Australian bush. Wolseley spends as much time as he can out of the city
- painting in an old train carriage, sketching in a tent or by the banks of a
creek.
Ian Lloyd’s photograph of Wolseley shows him drawing with the naturally
formed charcoal found in a burnt piece of wood. Drawing is central to
his way of working and Wolseley combines detailed natural history style
drawing with expressive mark making where he sometimes uses elements
direct from the landscape to draw with.
The large roll of paper shown in the studio photograph has been covered
in drawings made directly by the environment and as such it bears witness
to the forces of nature. In his own words Wolseley says, ‘in this studio in
St. Kilda, I’ve noticed that things have a more static quality. Whereas, if I’m
outside, under my tarpaulin, I feel the great forces and flux of nature moving
through me.’
Born in 1938, Wolseley is fascinated by geology, science and natural
history. These interests can be seen in A history of parrots, drifting maps
and warming seas 2005 and are expressed in the following statement; ‘I
feel a fundamental connection with nature. What I’m invariably doing in my
work is relating the grasshopper’s leg, or the growth rings on a plant, to the
bigger, more abstract geological systems of the earth.’
Explore the artist’s works:
www.johnwolseley.net/
Survey John Wolseley’s work using Google image search:
Devise a short poem
about the artist John Wolseley
in his studio.
What things seem common
among the painters in the
exhibition? What can you see
that are found in at least five
other studio photographs?
Why do you think
lan Lloyd did not photograph
Wolseley in the natural
environment when he so
often works there? Are there
any other artists who work
outdoors? List and compare
each artist’s practice with
Wolseley’s.
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http://www.google.com.au/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&biw=1152&bih=534&tbs=isch:1&aq=f&aqi=g2&oq=&gs_rfai=&q=john%20wolseley
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