Thoughts on Drawing

Before this class, I had never really drawn. My best drawing was really close to something that kind of sort of maybe looked like a stick figure. Maybe. I had always wanted to learn how to draw, and I even looked into some courses in my hometown, but it never fit with my schedule. When I learned that there was a class at Duke that taught drawing, I wasn't sure if I would have enough skill to take it and pass. On the first day, my fears were confirmed when I saw all of my classmate's sketches. I couldn't even draw a table. A TABLE. I remember literally spending the entire class working on how to draw the table: aka, the thing that was holding everything else every one else was drawing. hahah BUT, I did not get too discouraged, and I am glad I kept with it, because now, I can produce works that I am proud of. I even post some of them to my social media pages, woo! Also, my mother has begun messaging me every wednesday night asking to see my drawing.

However, aside from having a tangible work to be proud of, I am glad that I took this class for the skills that I have learned. I am so much more observant now, and I see my environment differently. I really began to notice this when we worked with negative space and shading. Realizing that there is more to an object than its details has helped me to analyze better in all of my classes. I have learned a lot of different analytic thinking approaches this semester in all of my classes, and this class helped me most to think about problems in a larger context. I can sometimes go to far with the intricate details of things, but this class helped me to see the larger picture.

My ultimate goal is to be able to draw a picture of a friend or family member. While I certainly do have a long way to go before achieving this, I am amazed by the progress I have made this semester. I compare my first sketch with my last and cannot believe I drew both of them. I always thought that drawing was a skill that could not be learned, but Mr. Fick, you proved me wrong! You were so right when you said learning to draw comes with just starting to draw. I plan to continue drawing and working with charcoal (pencil wasn't my thing.... haha). I'll send you a picture of my first portrait when I finally perfect it! hehe