Thoughts on Drawing

I have always enjoyed all kinds of art. I came to Duke considering minoring in Visual Arts, and whenever I have a huge test or long paper, I think maybe I should major in it? Creating art is what makes me happy and clears my mind. I always loved doodling but became more technical when I took a couple drawing classes in high school. Since then, I have wandered away from drawing to other medias. This semester it felt great to go back to my original creative roots and draw with just pencil and charcoal. I definitely think I had lost the skills and techniques I had learned in high school. So, I was able to re-learn and re-train my hand. I also feel like I really improved those skills this semester.

Not only was their improvement in my drawing, but also in my stress levels. Although it was sometimes hectic to turn in drawings on their exact due date, in general it was the opposite effect. More often then not I am stressed out about my school work and drawing just completely gets my mind off of things. I love knowing that I have a couple free hours to spend drawing alone in my apartment. I always turn on music to a loud setting clear off my table and set in on a drawing. I found that drawing with pencil is a little more tedious for me, because I feel the need to be more of a perfectionist with details. However, with charcoal I use much more expressive markings and in my strokes I can feel my self getting lost and relaxing.