An Australian Story of my place in time Portrait of Kangaroo No. 38

This my second series of kangaroo drawings has now moved into storytelling on matters that have deeply affected my life for the past 50 years. I call this series a "Marriage of Time" as it merges contemporary sociopolitical and environmental concepts in a drawing style which is uniquely mine. This piece is the second in the series and reflects a time long long ago when I was a kangaroo hunter which gave me an absolute understanding of the animal, it's mannerisms, personalities an, of course, it's physiological characteristics. I now live in a small sanctuary alongside the Murray River some 110k from Adelaide. This is reflected by the serpentine shape running across the drawing. There is also reference to local agriculture, centre pivot irrigation as denoted by the circular shapes in the top right hand of the drawing and. The Adelaide hills which are a rain barrier to our area and the fish in skeletal form refer to a recent drought where our river dropped by 2.5m leaving many animals to struggle and die.
I draw as my passion is the fluidity of line and I have no need for colour at this time. I'm in a bit of a bleak place in my life so black and white as in right and wrong resonates with my state of mind. I hope my work brings you some joy and a little understanding of my life.

Keywords: large drawings, Australian art, Drawing of Kangaroo, Contemporary Australian Art, Michael Chorney, Drawings by Michael Chorney, @ChorneyArtist

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I am an Australian of Ukrainian descent born in 1954, my mother Joanna Chorney’s working life was that of a practicing artist and art educator so my exposure to art began virtually at birth. I clearly recall, at the tender age of six, sitting in a life drawing class with my mother, charcoal in hand fiercely concentrating on light falling on a fruit and bowl arrangement while fighting the anxiety of making those first decisive marks on stark white paper. That was the beginning of my love affair with drawing which led to participation in numerous exhibitions throughout my schooling years and a one man show of ‘Adelaide Torrens River’ landscape paintings at the age of 16.

In 1974 I graduated with a Diploma in Fine Art Painting from the South Australian School of Art.

Early working life started with a short stint in painting backdrops in theatre then progressed to scenic artistry in the film industry. Meanwhile I was in private practice working towards a one man show of nude drawing held in 1978, This was followed by another one man show of paintings and nude drawings in 1980.