While oil painting is considered to have the highest status in art, the art of drawing has provided the key to artistic talent at the highest level. Drawings by Michael Parkes are fascinating because they offer us the most immediate contact with his imagination. Out of the handling of simple materials, come marks, signs, figures and ultimately narratives. We find meaning in the most casual of his lines. The drawings offer an intimate communication between the imaginations of both the artist and viewer. We need to take time to look closely at these drawings to enjoy them for their own sake, for their own beauty as well as for the narratives they formulate.
