From a young age my mother continuously signed me up for art
classes at the local community center. I dibbled and dabbled, inspired by my
older brother who is an incredible artist. I was never really as well rounded
as him as an artist so, seeing my artistic tendencies, he urged me to try oil
painting. Oil painting came much more naturally to me and I felt that I was
pretty good at it. Still, I knew that if I wanted to improve my painting skills
I needed to get more comfortable with drawing since that’s the foundation I
begin my oil paintings on. I decided to take this class in the hopes that I
could become a better drawer as well as expand myself beyond my typical science
classes.
At
first, drawing was very daunting for me. It was different from the free stroke and
less constrained nature I was used to in oil painting. It took me unnecessarily
long to finish simple drawings and sketches because I kept drawing lines, not
liking them, erasing them, and doing them over and over again. I consider
myself a perfectionist so I kept doing this until I was satisfied with it, no
matter how many times it took me. As the semester went on, I became more
comfortable with drawing and I didn’t over think it as much as I used to. I
just went straight to it and tried to apply the free form techniques I use when
I paint. This approach helped me a lot. I also became more comfortable with
different mediums like charcoal and using different techniques like smearing
pencil with a tissue or my finger. This allowed me to apply some of my painting
skills to my drawings. Looking back at my earlier drawings and comparing them
to the more recent ones, I definitely see that I improved my drawing skills. Another
thing I can attribute my improvement over the semester to was the nudge
Professor Fick gave me to try new things and push myself to new limits. I took
his advice and picked subjects I felt would be difficult for me and in the end
I feel that they turned out nicely! If I hadn’t been pushed I would’ve just
continued doing simple line drawings and would not have improved my skills.
I thoroughly enjoy drawing now. I find
it a good pass time as well as a time to think and just take a break from the
usual science related homework I have. Before this semester I didn’t do much
drawing, but I’m really glad I challenged myself and decided to take this
class. I look forward to continuing drawing and filling my sketchbook with more
sketches!
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