WAG@Home Interact with Art

Ivan Eyre. Untitled, 1965. graphite, coloured pencil on paper, 24.2 x 31.5 cm. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; Gift of the late Mary H. Acheson in memory of her mother, the late Helen E. Acheson. G-66-14.

Interact with art in the WAG collection from the comfort of your home. With everything from historical to contemporary artwork, the WAG holds an extensive and rich collection for your endless inspiration! This week, we invite you to interact with a key Manitoba artist Ivan Eyre and his piece Untitled. Take a look at one of his surreal drawings and create your own imagination-driven artwork!

Look: This drawing might look like a doodle, but look closely, it incorporates elements of Cubism, Surrealism and Expressionism. What objects can you see in the composition? Can you find the hand? The horse? The apple? The tree trunk? Look even more closely, are there other elements of the artwork that give the impression of an object? Is that a tropical bird? Is that a bag of popcorn? What else can you find?

Imagine: Use your imagination as your guide. Think about your surroundings: your kitchen, out your window, your pets, and more. Now think about something that isn’t in your immediate surroundings: maybe a dream you had last night or a memory of a trip you once took. What sticks out to you and how would you capture it in this type of drawing?

Create: Grab your pencil, pencil crayons and piece of paper or notebook! Start by drawing a continuous line on the page. You can swirl and curve your line into loops or keep your line straight with squares or points: the only rule is to not lift your pencil. Keep drawing until you have filled the page with the line. Now, take a good look at your artwork – do any shapes or forms peek out at you? Do these shapes remind you of people, animals or objects in your life? Or maybe of a memory or dream you once had? Fill in these forms to create the objects that peek out at you. Embellish them with colours!

Share with us! Take a picture of your artwork and email it to communications@wag.ca to be featured on the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s social media!