The studio is in a former warehouse of the Tongala Pharmacy — at the rear of the Mangan St Tongala Town Square — transformed into a makeshift art room.
Mr Ross said his goal was to fit out the building to enable a more regular opportunity for Tongala children to be involved in art education.
“We had to knock 10 kids back for the two sessions we had in the holidays. And there were more than 50 kids — all up — involved in the program,” Mr Ross said.
Tongala Town Square features several murals from the town mural trail, among more than 50 located at different locations through the town, which the long-time Tongala artist has played a leading hand in establishing
In tandem with the Lions Club of Tongala, and the town’s development group, Tongala has become a destination for the region’s art lovers — through not only the murals, but also regular hay bale artistic creations
Mr Ross said the support of the pharmacy was vital to the success of the program.
“This building used to be simply a storage room. The pharmacy has been great to us, they own the building and long term we want to establish this as a studio, Mr Ross said.
“The shire have organised — and sponsored — the event, while the Lions club members were involved with the sausage sizzle lunch.”
Six to 12-year-old children were given expert tutelage by Mr Ross, who said the hardest thing was catering to all abilities.
“We are educating the children to use perspective, to draw properly.
“I hope to line the building with insulation and make it comfortable. Eventually I’d like to put air conditioning in the building,” he said.
The students walked away with an enhanced understanding of shading, of how to turn shapes into subjects and on creating a three dimensional drawing
They also painted an open scene, guided through the process by the renowned mural artist — a former winner of the Rochester Mural Festival.
