Travelling artist David Penalver's artwork will travel on through Goulburn Club auction

Mr Penalver's drawings include sketches from his trips to Viet Nam, Cambodia, South Korea, Greece, France, Germany, Belgium, England, Scotland and Wales, as well as from around Goulburn.

They will be on exhibition at the Goulburn Club beginning Friday, April 8 at 6pm. An auction will follow on April 24.

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Daphne Penalver said she was hoping to see her late husband's artworks spread throughout the community.

"I'd like people to have David's view of places that they may have visited as a memory, as opposed to having their own photograph or a postcard," she said.

"There's a feeling in a drawing that you just don't get in a photograph."

Mr Penalver had a long-term interest in boats, trains, railway lines, heritage buildings, streetscapes and of course, travelling.

His training as an architect, and later in the art of drawing and composition, resulted in an art collection that reflected his interests.

Mr Penalver studied art at the College of Advanced Education in Goulburn, although Mrs Penalver believed a love of art ran through his genes.

"Upstairs I've got paintings that his grandmother did as an 18 year old, and his mother was also interested in art," she said.

Being colour-blind, Mr Penalver chose to work mostly in pencil and graphite. His drawings were all done in situ, never from a photograph.

"He had to work quickly before the shadows moved or changed," Mrs Penalver said.

"Sometimes he'd touch things up when he came back, but the bulk of everything was done on the site.

"He would spend about an hour or an hour and a half at a site, he would work on something and he would never go back again to the same site or try to recreate the atmosphere that he'd seen the day before."

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Mrs Penalver described her travels with her late husband as a "great big adventure".

At first they travelled as a family but as their children grew older they began to travel alone as a couple, making it easier for Mr Penalver to focus on his drawing.

"My job was to find somewhere for us to stay for a week and he'd go out and draw while I walked along rivers or went to local markets," Mrs Penalver said.

"David was really taken by the spaces between buildings, a building in a setting.

"However, one of his challenges was finding a place where nobody would interfere. He would try and find a wall that was behind him, or a tree, or something.

"Otherwise people really did get quite intrusive, gradually moving closer and closer and closer. They'd even talk to him, which is very distracting if you're really concentrating on something."

Jane Cush, a family friend and former director of Goulburn Art Gallery, will officially open the exhibition on Friday, April 8 at 6pm.

Eighty-one lots will be offered for auction, 13 are framed, three are mounted on thick cardboard and will be hung in the exhibition. The remaining lots are small drawings, arranged as sets and mounted on black cardboard, which can be viewed on a TV screen when the Goulburn Club is open.

All proceeds from the auction will go towards the Goulburn Club lift project. The Club has engaged Tim Lee Architects to design a plan to make the Club more accessible.

A DA was submitted to Goulburn Mulwaree Council in early May. The total concept is complex and expensive, but the work can be done in stages, starting with the lift's installation.

"When we had David's celebration of his life at the Club, one of his long standing school friends couldn't come because he wasn't able to negotiate the stairs," Mrs Penalver said.

"It applies to any activities the club has, if you can't negotiate the stairs, then you can't attend but also anytime there's a need for getting heavy, awkward things upstairs, a lift would make it much easier."

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Mr Penalver drew for his own pleasure and never expected to sell any of his works. As a result, some of the works are signed, some initialed and some are unmarked.

His initials (DP) or signature (Penalver) may be a challenge to find as he was taught that his signature should blend into his work.

Mrs Penalver said he would have been astonished to see the event come to life.

There should be something to suit everyone's purse with lots ranging from quick sketches to detailed drawings. There are only a few lots which have reserved prices.

"This is also like a second celebration of his life. I hope people will see the auction as a type of donation to the Club for which they get a return," Mrs Penalver said.

The exhibition can be viewed on:

Pre-auction and telephone bids will be possible by contacting Councillor Carol James.

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