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Ross Potter
Ross Potter (drawing an osprey, above) was in residence in The Art of Freo Gallery in J Shed on Arthur Head when I took the photo. He works in graphite (as in 'lead' pencils) on paper, and often on a large scale. His recent work has included drawings of a horse and a whale on a 1:1 scale!
From his website:
Ross Potter is a Kamilaroi man living in Perth who works with graphite and pencil to produce highly detailed representations of animals, minerals and vegetables.
Through magnifying microscopic features, Ross brings the abstractions of reality to our attention, while telling compelling stories of everyday life.
Well-known works include the life-size sketch of Perth Zoo’s elephant Tricia for Fremantle Arts Centre’s Animaze: Amazing Animals for Kids and WHALE at High Tide 17 Fremantle Biennale.
Ross’s most recent artworks are anthropomorphic in nature, reflecting human characteristics in bird forms to tell stories of pain, suffering and adversity.
Natural decay is a recurring theme in Ross’s work. His subjects are often in a state of deterioration, questioning our relationship with nature and the environment.
Since his first solo exhibition in 2011, Ross has worked as a full-time artist with various residencies across Western Australia including Cossack Art Award in 2019 and Fremantle Arts Centre in 2020.
Ross has won many art awards, most notably as finalist in The Lester Prize (BSPP) in 2015 and 2017, and winner of the Leonora Art Prize in 2019.
The whale was shown at High Tide 17, Fremantle Biennale, WA Maritime Museum.
He is in planning to do communal work with various groups, including, for example, students of St Hilda's School.
Fremantle Arts Centre:
Ross Potter is a Western Australian artist based in Fremantle.
Originally from Brisbane, Potter made his move to the West Coast in 2007, working in the steel industry and creating art in his spare time. In 2011 he decided to take his art more seriously with the creation of his first solo exhibition. Potter’s passion for the arts continued to grow as his practice developed, leading him to pursue his artistic career full time in 2013. The artist now works from his studio based at the J Shed in Fremantle’s iconic West End. ...
Using graphite on paper, Potter dedicates his time to capturing the details in our everyday lives and finds escapism can exist in the simplicity of our very own reality. Altering perspectives and challenging our sense of place, Potter’s work captures the slow evolution of the urban landscape and how we as a community interact with our surroundings. As we fall in and out of love, it is the romance in these minute details that brings us all together. FAC
References and Links
Ross Potter website
Whale drawing at Instagram
Ellen McCarthy Photography in Facebook
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 2 March, 2018 and hosted at freotopia.org/arts/artists/potter/index.html (it was last updated on 15 February, 2022), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.