Andy Pankhurst
- Faculty
Biography
Andy Pankhurst studied and teaches at the Slade School of Fine Art as a visiting lecturer for life drawing. He is a figurative painter with work in various public, corporate, and private collections and museums in the UK and USA. Andy is represented by and exhibits with Browse & Darby, London. He is the co-author with Lucinda Hawksley of What Makes Great Art, published in 2012 (Frances Lincoln).
On drawing
Drawing is abstract and conceptual, not an exercise in mere copying. I therefore teach students ‘ways of thinking’ rather than ‘how to do it’. A great misconception of our time is that drawing from observation is a mindless activity. Over two decades ago, while teaching life drawing at an art school, I discovered that students were being told that attending the life class would render them a vegetable! I believe the opposite: that life drawing and working from direct observation encourages thought and the formulation of ideas.
One of the best ways to learn the art of drawing and picture-making is through the study of art from the past. When referring to and drawing from such works, you can read their ideas and their language. Every time we draw it has to be about something. The ideas we have about art are the foundation from which we attempt to manifest a visual configuration that resembles and expresses our concepts.
Specialism
Drawing, Painting
