Are you a professional artist?

Formally no, as in I don't (unfortunately) make bucket loads of money. Emotionally yes, as in I love the work and think I'm kind of okay at it. I think it's all in the eye of whomever is looking. Wow does that even make sense? Maybe soon I'll make the transition.

Why do you call your work "Graphite Painting"?

Because they are not "sketches"!  My work is detailed and carefully done and so it's difficult for me to think of them as "sketches" even though that's how they are often described.

When I first started drawing, I entered one of my works in an art show and it was classified as a "painting" and judged alongside Oils, Watercolours and Pastels.  Producing art works in Graphite is every bit as difficult as these other forms and so I (along with a lot of other Graphite Artists) call my works "paintings" instead of drawings or sketches.

What is Drawn Wild

Drawn Wild is the Web Site put together to showcase the art of Terry Jackson (that would be me!).

Where do you live?

I live in Adelaide, the beautiful 'city of churches' and capital of South Australia with my partner Dave, our dog Twitch and Chino the rabbit. Between us, Dave and I have 5 terrific adult children (3 are mine, 2 are Dave's) all of whom are scattered hither and yon around the city.

When did you start drawing?

I had dabbled (but never seriously) throughout my life. I really began drawing in March, 2005 when I did a triple portrait of my sister Barbara for her 40th birthday. How well it turned out was a surprise even to me as I had never really done anything like it before. I was amazed that it actually looked like her! Family and friends saw it and asked me to do others...it went from there.

What about animals?

Okay well animals are a different story and something which, even after I began to draw, I hadn't even thought about until after Christmas of 2005 when Dave's brother and his family visited us from the UK. They gave us a beautiful limited edition print of Elsa the Lioness by Gary Hodges. I loved it and a couple of months later I decided to give animals a go just to see if I could do it....and I could. Who'da thunk eh? :)

Where do you do your drawing?

My 'studio' (for want of a better word...it sounds better than 'the back room') is a small room at the back of the house (see what I mean by back room?). The space is shared by my drawing desk, my computer desk and another desk that is used for storage, with little space in between (I have no idea how I managed before I took out the bookcase and freezer!) It's cramped but it has a big window and its' private and unless I am doing something huge, I don't have to use the dining table. :)

What pencils and paper and stuff do you use?

For the graphite, rather than using wood encased pencils, I use metal encased mechanical ones in HB, 2B and 4B which I sharpen with a tiny sharpener. For me these are much easier to use (and anything simple for me is a good thing!) and I like the weight of them. I also have several graphite sticks in various strengths of colour which I use for larger areas.

Colour on the other hand is a different thing. I have not being doing colour for long but when I do I do pastels, for which I use Rembrandt pastel sticks and CarbOthello pastel pencils (at the moment).

The paper I use the most at the moment for graphite is Canson 220gsm drawing paper. I prefer A3 (11 3/4" × 16 1/2") size to A4 (8 1/4" × 11 3/4") but I have now begun drawing in A2 (16 1/2" × 23 3/8")...and loving it! For the pastels I use Colourfix in all the colours of the rainbow (well the Colourfix rainbow, which isn't all that bright).

I also use many different erasers, from a cheap (but totally invaluable) electric one that I picked up in the UK, to PaperMate E-Raser and Tuff Stuff ones through to Blu-Tack (love this) and ordinary run-of-the-mill-bought-from-the-newsagent ones.


I also use tortillons a lot...for smudging, for shading, for blending, for drawing.  I use all different sizes for many different things. The large ones I use with the shaving from my pencils to make large shaded areas (rather than cross hatching, which I hate). The little ones I use for tight shading and smudging and doing things like fur. I don't throw out any that are worn down and gummed up with pencil dust. Instead I use these until they are worn to a tiny nub and simply fall apart...that's when they get chucked.

Do you prefer graphite or colour?

It depends on the picture being drawn. Most of them look wonderful in the simple complexity (yes I know it's an oxymoron) of the greys, blacks and white of a graphite drawing but others simply screeeeam out for colour dahhhhling. (Although I must admit to having a preference for using graphite the most.)

Do you work from photos?

Absolutely yes!! 'nuff said. :)

So where do you get your photos?

The internet is a terrific thing. The great majority of the photos I have gathered come from the wonderful and talented people I have been able to find all over the world. When using a photo I always make sure I have either have written permission from the photographer or make sure it is in the public domain and copyright free (generally I prefer to do the first...that way you meet some fantastic people). Believe me I would love to use my own photos but firstly I am not a great photographer and secondly there are simply not that many wild animals in Adelaide, even in the zoos (we have no animals such as elephants, chimps or even wolves in South Australia)..

Where do you start on a picture?

I usually start with the eyes. If I have trouble with the eyes then I know it's not going to go well until I get them right. If there are no eyes to deal with I start in the top left hand corner and work down and across (being right handed this stops smudging)