Drawing is one of the most ancient of visual art forms and charcoal a basic medium, yet today only a few artists consider charcoal drawing worth exhibiting.  In the modern art world of lost imagery and colour explosions that bewilder the eye, of electronic gadgetry and found object installations that confuse the mind, it is highly refreshing to visit a quiet space where good drawing skill and finesse with a low tech medium is the order of the day.  In the new Maxwell's Gallery, Susan Angwin, Carl Haanappel and Leaf Watson-Heath present figure and character studies that invite, involve and interest the viewer as being fine examples of charcoal drawing.

Angwin's figure work is highly satisfying.  She employs pastel, wash and charcoal to depict the nude in a variety of poses.  Here the artist is less interested in capturing a likeness than seeing her model as a variety of shapes to be suggested with line or developed into solid volume with value.  The mixed media Sheenagh - Study I is a fascinating drawing that shows a section of the back and hip of the model.  A twist in posture is indicated by broad sweeping marks of white pastel and confident black lines over grey wash.  We see beyond anatomy to consider nature, perhaps a rain washed rock or an undulating landscape.  In all her figure studies, Angwin supplies sufficient information to indicate the subject but does not weigh the viewer down with unnecessary information.  We appreciate the sketch or drawing for what it is, rather than who it represents.

Haanappel is better known for his watercolour paintings, where his keen drawing skills may go unnoticed by viewers as they get caught up in well manipulated colour washes.  Here the artist presents small charcoal drawings that have the same interest in medium manipulation, but of tone rather than colour.  Haanappel captures the essence of his subjects, simple folk and activities like friends congregating in Cobbers or a lone figure tasting the fruit of the vine in Light Red Connoisseur.  The images emerge from areas of heavy black charcoal or passages where the medium has been rubbed back through a variety of grey tones, while here and there important detail is annotated by thin black line.  The works are easily approachable as there is room enough for the viewer's imagination to articulate sections of untouched white paper that serve to accent the rich black.

Watson-Heath's works are large yet intimate close-ups of fragments of the figure - an eye, hands or knees - in charcoal and gesso.  The works are executed in a dark tonal range leaving only the most intense highlights as white, a technique that would not work as well on a smaller surface.  The images intrigue, as our eyes become accustom to the dark we discover half hidden features.  Most impressive is Sleeping an image of genuine repose.  Here we look down on a sleeping woman's head, face soft and relaxed, hands tucked under her chin, fingers gently curving.  The point of view, the total relaxation of the features, the softness of the limited range of greys, all work to create the essence of slumber.

As much as the artistic strides made in contemporary times are appreciated, it is still refreshing to revisit of the basics of all the visual arts, drawing.  To suggest a facet of reality, to incorporate mood, to produce an interesting image, with nothing but marks made with white and black media, may be an ancient artform but it's still the most rewarding when done well.  See for yourself.