Annalise Fairfax - Drawn to Draw
"Beach House Interior" (2025) 21 x 29.7 cm
DRAWN TO DRAW
Annalise Fairfax Thomas
“I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realise how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.”
Frederick Frank The Zen of Seeing, 1973
(Quoted in Betty Edwards book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Souvenir Press, 2012)
This drawing exhibition is a retrospective of the ordinary things which I have drawn and found to be miraculous. Each drawing is like a postcard in my life journey. A story of a moment in time, in a place, where a person, an object or maybe a plant is experienced more fully in the process of slowing down to draw.
Drawing engages more senses than the eyes. I love the feeling of the graphite pencil, maybe light or soft dark gliding over the page. A stick of charcoal can be like an extension of my fingers sculpting the form, as if I am stroking the skin of the body or leaves of a plant. Having my fingers gritty with black charcoal while I rub in tone and shadow makes for a good day. The texture of smooth or rough paper and how that creates unexpected textures can be a surprise. The materials have a life of their own which inform the drawing. The drawings can convey the felt line in their contours. I love how I lose track of time in being with what I am drawing, looking, measuring, building line and tone. The illusion of creating three dimensions on a flat two-dimensional surface intrigues me.
I love life drawing. Searching for the lines of energy, the angles, the weight, the proportions, the light and shade is engrossing. To draw the human body is to draw ourselves in our humanity. We are our bodies, and we feel the emotions and mood of the model. There can be magic in a two-minute sketch which captures the essence of a body in motion. Sometimes a long pose gets lost in the details and can be frustrating, but the practise of observation informs the rapid lines of a quick pose. Ultimately it is not about a perfect representation, but the joy of being lost in looking and hopefully sharing that felt sense, in the drawing.
Art Education
Doodling ballerinas in class in primary school I was often in trouble when a critical question came my way. I always loved to draw. In my teens I became frustrated that I lacked the ability to draw what I could see. I can't remember a single art class at school where we were taught any drawing skills like proportion, perspective or tone.
My first art lessons were in America at Phillips Academy near Boston, when I was 30. On a teacher Exchange programme with my family, I had the opportunity to sit in with the high school students in their fabulous art department. I was introduced to visual studies, life drawing and photography with a box brownie camera. With good teaching and encouragement, I rediscovered my love of drawing.
On our return to Australia, I continued to take art classes and I'm very grateful for many inspiring teachers. Basic drawing and pastels with Denbigh Sale. Classical oil painting through art history in Charlie Sheard’s intensive three-year course and then further courses in his Studio School. Then I attended Oil painting classes with Celia Gullett. Fifteen years ago, I enrolled in ‘Dare To Draw’ classes with Jennifer Keeler Milne where our weekly drawing days provide many varied drawing subjects, structure and community. Workshops with Annie Herron and many other great teachers at Winter School at the National Art School have also expanded my practice.
In 2006 Kate Anderson and I did an art residency with the Red Gate Gallery in Beijing supported by Tony Scott. We had done workshops in Sydney with Tony called Painting Out of the Square, which did indeed push our boundaries.
I have also spent time in Paris, where I have practised life drawing at the Grand Chaumière Atelier in Montparnasse. My Danish grandmother who was an artist, possibly practised her life drawing there, while she studied with Légère in the 1930s. I like to feel I'm following in her footsteps.
Exhibitions
2005 Class group show with Celia Gullett
2006 Exhibition with Kate Anderson, 798, Beijing
2007 Exhibition at Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Paddington
2009 Exhibition at Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Paddington
2016 Group Exhibition at Tony Scott’s Gallery in Hong Kong
2025 Following a memoir writing class in Paris with Patti Miller, our group, Des Écrivains Créatif à Paris, has published an anthology, Paris Ink. My story explores my search for my grandmother’s presence in Paris
I am delighted to donate the proceeds of sales of my drawings to The Girls and Boys Brigade which was founded by my grandfather Sir James Fairfax and A.S. Bennett in 1882. I acknowledge, with gratitude, Dom and Ted’s generous support and contribution in hosting my exhibition. Today, the Brigade continues in Surry Hills. Among many other activities, the program offers the children the opportunity to express themselves in drawing and painting which can encourage their self-esteem and confidence.