Faces on show at public exhibition

PAUL Harrington hopes strangers and friends will connect at his upcoming art exhibition Faces of Bendigo at Exhibit B Gallery in Bendigo Bank Central next month.

Harrington worked with other passionate artists of all abilities at Creative Community Studios in Eaglehawk, an NDIS funded program, for around two years on the pieces including graphic designer and animator Sebastian Ratcliffe and artist Alicia Huddy.

Ratcliffe said Harrington “asked a number of people if he could take their photo and then he’d draw the picture from the photo”.

“I think there was over 20 of them that he’d done, but he chose about 15 for the exhibition,” Ratcliffe said.

Harrington said he used “a bit of pencil, a bit of crayon and pastels” to create the portraits of a variety of people and the process of drawing them was a “relaxing, calm and enjoyable” one.

The award-winning artist also takes inspiration from nature for his work and said he looks at “all sorts of things” to draw.

“Animals, something in a tree, something in a cloud when they’re spread out,” he said.

“I told mum about it and you know what she said? ‘It’s your own imagination’. It could just be normal to you, but what’s it look like to me?”

Faces of Bendigo will be on show at Exhibit B Gallery from the 1 to 30 June and entry is free.