Testimonials

“With Andrew Antoniou’s ‘Drawing from the Imagination’ workshop, we have fulfilled a creative niche untouched before.” Participants thrive on the opportunity to ‘unlearn’ traditional approaches to drawing, with Andrew’s professional, informed and lateral teaching practice. This energy reveals itself in the results achieved by the participants as well as the glowing satisfaction of the students themselves.”
Kes Harper
Education Manager
Art Gallery Society of NSW

“Since 2005 Andrew Antoniou’s drawing workshops have been an invaluable addition to the NAS Public Programs. His unique approach to drawing from the imagination and natural ability to communicate his methods and ideas has resulted in inventive work from his students. Our post course surveys note that a large number of his students found the workshops “practical”, “surprising” and “rewarding”. We look forward to hosting more of Andrew’s classes in the future.”
Jayne Dyer
Head of Public Programs
National Art School Sydney

“It is not very often that you find a teacher who both inspires your work and helps you positively re-evaluate your approach to drawing. Andrew’s ability to put traditional approaches to a subject aside, allows a freer and more individual way of seeing and thinking, which is totally refreshing and liberating. Couple this with Andrew’s positive attitude, his passion for drawing, and his ability to impart knowledge, and you have learning experence that will stay with you and continue to be of enormous benefit long after his course has finished.”
Graeme Nichols - Student - Drawing from Yourself

Drawing on Yourself - A short course on unlocking your inner vison through drawing.

"Inside all of us is a vast collection of memories and images, stored at a subconscious level, beyond our daily vision. These deep pools of the mind are a source of unlimited creativity – a source we can tap and transform into imagery to inspire and guide our artistic endeavours."

Drawing on Yourself is a short course that introduces participants to a range of approaches for accessing this realm. It is led by accomplished artist and tutor, Andrew Antoniou, and outlines a series of steps to help participants stimulate and connect with their imagination or ‘inner vision’. The result is a series of large-scale charcoal drawings that map the development of the idea. Music, poetry and other stimuli are used to enhance this process.

The results from past workshops have been astonishing: students with little drawing experience have produced confident, engaging works while those with more experience have completed highly developed pieces that mark a real progression from their previous work. Participants have also reported renewed confidence in their own imagery and a high level of inspiration which was helpful in shifting stubborn cases of ‘creative block’.

Drawing on Yourself is appropriate for artists working in all areas of the visual arts, and can be tailored to suit groups of different experience levels (beginners, intermediate and advanced).

Drawing from Yourself
Dates - 2009 Location Details
Contact venue for further details
February 7th & 8th McGregor School USQ (QLD) 10 day intensive
January 27th & 28th Workshop Arts Centre - Willoughby Tuesday & Wednesday
January 31st & February 1st Milton CWA (NSW) Weekend workshop
February 28th & March 1st Ku-ring-gai Arts Centre Weekend workshop
April 5th Hazelhurst Regional Gallery Masterclass
April 6 - 9th Bondi Road Arts Centre 4 day intensive
May 2nd & 3rd Cootamundra Community Hall Weekend workshop
June 13th & 14th Wollongong City Gallery Weekend workshop
June 27th & 28th Kuringai Arts Centre Weekend workshop
Drawing on Yourself in more detail

The concept for Drawing on Yourself originated when Andrew was asked to teach his style of drawing to a group of students at an arts centre in the Southern Highlands of NSW. As he developed the course outline he realised it was less a style and more an approach to drawing that he had to offer.

He also recalled the difficulty students seemed to have in coming up with subject matter for their drawings in previous courses. He put these two observations together, and Drawing on Yourself was conceived.

After a period of experimentation and investigation, concrete images and drawings begin to materialise. In shorter workshops, students are encouraged to push these initial drawings to a conclusion, while in longer courses, they are asked to revisit their starting point several times before finalising their pieces.

Several arts institutes have already successfully hosted Drawing on Yourself, including the Art Gallery of NSW, the Sturt Craft Centre and the National Art School. In addition to enjoying themselves, participants stated that they were inspired and motivated during the course, and that these feelings lasted long after the course was completed.

Hosting Drawing on Yourself

Drawing on Yourself is a flexible course that can be hosted by a variety of organisations and targeted at participants with varied skill levels. The main requirement for host groups – which may be Art Galleries, Arts Centres, Continuing Education Institutes, Summer and Winter Schools or Community Arts Programs – is that they can provide a suitable room with ample wall space.

The course can be tailored for participants with different levels of skill – i.e. beginners, intermediate, advanced- and can be run over two days or five days.

The course, which has been developed and refined over several years, begins by providing students with a range of stimuli – including music, poetry, text and food. The students are asked to absorb the different atmospheres evoked by the stimuli, and to begin a journey inwards. Then they do a series of drawing exercises to capture and develop the ideas that emerge from this process.

The two day course is an introductory course, and is ideal for both beginners and intermediate. The five day course is an intensive course, and is more suited to those with some drawing skills (although a high level of competency is not necessary). When the five day course is run as an advanced course, it is suited to those who have previously attended the intermediate course, or who are practicing artists.

In general, the maximum number of students per course is 12; however, fewer might be more appropriate depending on the room size. For advanced courses, the maximum number is 6.

About the Tutor

Andrew Antoniou (RE) is a highly sought after tutor in several fields of the arts. His serious approach to teaching is balanced with humour and inspiration, which makes his courses very popular.
Andrew has more than 30 years experience, teaching at a range of levels, from adult education institutes to universities. Most recently he has lectured in painting, drawing and printmaking at the Canberra School of Art, and in printmaking at the University of Wollongong. Andrew can be contacted at art...@antoniou.com.au