He’s Australia’s only Living Master of art and renowned internationally for his rare gold and silver metal point drawings, but for Gordon Hanley, Morpeth Gallery is the place to be.
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Hanley has been working with the gallery for 16 years and it is the only location in Australia to display his work. He says it is his relationship with owner Trevor Richards, that makes it worthwhile.
“I met Trevor in 1993 and had my first exhibition here in 1998. I’ve been with Trevor ever since because he really is one of the few art gallery owners that I trust implicitly and he’s looked after me and I suppose vice versa,” Hanley said.
Hanley’s metal point art was on display at Morpeth Gallery across the weekend, with sales making about $150,000.
His top seller was for the drawing Danse Noir, which sold for $34,000.
The exhibition drew buyers from Sydney, the Central Coast, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Hanley’s drawings will be on display at Morpeth Gallery from today until Sunday, October 12 from 10am to 5pm.
His journey to art was far from direct – from science teacher to photography teacher, and he even spent some time in the Navy.
But nothing can compare to his passion for art.
“I think with a lot of people their hobbies one day take over their lives and this is what happened to me,” he said
To sketch the metal point pieces he uses 24 carat gold and pure silver on specially prepared paper. It takes him four days to produce the surface before he starts to draw, and a further five to delicately draw the artwork.
The paper surface Hanley uses for the sketches is a lost formula Leonardo daVinci once used, which Hanley has re-discovered and formulated himself.
His drawings consist of both picturesque wildlife and breathtaking portraits of “real” women – non-professional models who “display real emotion”.
Hanley will also be at the gallery Saturday, October 11 and Sunday, October 12 to give demonstrations of how he creates his metal point art.