Sunday, December 1, 2013

Thoughts on Drawing

As I sit here thinking about drawing, I am honestly blown away. It can be so simple yet so complicated; it can be the perfect activity for a three year old or an eighty year old. When I was little I always looked up to my mom and grandmother’s artistic abilities. My grandma paints porcelain miniatures with delicate one-hair paintbrushes and my mom was a designer. Even though she helped design the old Canada Dry can or multiple Express stores, her bubble letters always impressed me (that’s probably the main reason I used to practice drawing).  After years of doodling my bubble letters still aren’t as good, but I am constantly reassured that in 20 years maybe they will be. A large part of me is very impatient about drawing, but over time I have learned that time is the best thing you can put into a piece of art.

In 6th, 7th, and 8th grade my school required us to take two of the follow: visual arts, dance, theater, and music. I kept an open mind and tried all four at some point. When it came to high school, one of our graduation requirements was to complete 2 years of one of the 4 arts. My freshman year I took drawing and have taken visual arts ever since. I tried ceramics and painting in the following years, but drawing always seemed like home base. The class really enforced the basics. I learned how to draw from observation and the importance of shading and values. We were taught to keep working on our drawings even after we thought we were finished. Although very often I was frustrated with my work, I was always happy with the final project. Art was a forced break in my day that I always found was necessary. This class and my past inspired me to take this drawing class at Duke. With my premed classes art seemed to be the perfect way to break up my schedule and slowly get to be as good as my mom and grandma. I really enjoyed this class. The first half of the semester was really nice to reinforce the basics. Learning the significance of the line, the eraser, and the values. Somehow a drawing can come to life using only one color. Although the charcoal sometimes gave the drawing an unanticipated feeling, the final piece it always better than I thought. Although jumping into the landscapes was frightening, it was a great learning experience. I am truly proud to see how far my work has come from the beginning.

-Becca Fisher

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