In this special online event, Australian artist Leigh Hobbs will share insights into his creative process and the ideas behind some of his iconic characters, including Old Tom. Throughout this fun and interactive session, Leigh will guide students through a series of drawing activities, offering tips and techniques to bring their own characters to life. This session will celebrate how unique and different we all are in our artistic expression and provide students with the opportunity to develop their own characters. Schools will be invited to submit questions for Leigh about his work ahead of the session.
Students will:
- Apply the ideas, materials, techniques and processes used in artworks to inspire the creation of their own art.
- Experiment with creative techniques to develop and expand imaginative ideas.
- Analyse how artists develop the elements of storytelling, including character development, narrative structure and setting.
For this workshop students will need:
- 2B pencil
- A4 white paper
- Hard surface to work on
- No erasers required
About the Artist:
Leigh Hobbs is an artist and author best known for the twenty-three children’s books he has written and illustrated featuring his characters Old Tom, Horrible Harriet, Fiona the Pig, The FREAKS in 4F and Mr Chicken. Leigh’s ceramic work, Flinders Street Station, Teapot (1984), is in the Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria and Lizzy Luna and Larry Luna, the caricature sculptures he created in the 1970s for Sydney Luna Park, are now in the Powerhouse Museum Collection in Sydney.
A popular French/ Australian animated television series was made based on Leigh’s Old Tom Books. In addition, his book ‘Mr Chicken Goes to Paris’ was shortlisted for the 2010 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and adapted for the stage by NIDA (National Institute for the Dramatic Arts) and has been a constant seller for years at the Louvre Museum in Paris. A production of Horrible Harriet was on stage at The Sydney Opera House. Leigh was the Australian Children’s Laureate 2016 – 2017.
Leigh was a secondary school art teacher for twenty-five years. He has also run art and drawing workshops for students and adults in the USA, UK and all over Australia in schools and at Literary Festivals.