Spanning 15 years or more, Norman Maclean participated in and organised ‘Life Drawing from the Nude Model’ sessions in Lysnar House Studios on behalf of the Gisborne Artists’ Society. Many of the models were international travellers who answered his promotional flyer placed in backpacker accommodation in the city.

Life drawing is about engaging in a process, not just about the final result, and is dedicated to observing the complexities of the human body as models pose for extended periods, allowing artists to study proportions, anatomy and expression. Maclean’s drawings in the exhibition Drawing Life reflect this complex and dynamic exploration using a variety of art materials. “I’ve always worked in an eclectic manner, experimenting with a wider variety of materials, methods and imagery.” Norman Maclean.

A painter, printmaker, educator, author and director of plays, he was awarded a Gisborne District Council Civic Award in 2016 in recognition of his long reaching voluntary contribution to the Arts Community in Gisborne. Norman Maclean died in December 2023.

Drawing Life, with permission from the Maclean family, is curated by fellow Gisborne Artists’ Society Life Member and printmaker, Jean Johnston, after she had come across many life drawings in Maclean’s studio, earlier this year.