DRAWING AT DUKE: Drawing

I am not very good at drawing. Therefore, when I signed up for this class, it was clearly not because I thought it would be an “easy A.” That’s not to say I wasn’t a little surprised at the first class meeting when Professor went over the agenda week by week. But I signed up for this class because I wanted to expand my ability in one of the areas of art that I had largely neglected up to that point. As a homeschooler, art has always taken up a significant portion of my free time. When I was younger, crafts and sewing; as I reached middle and high school, painting, fused glass, pottery, and cross-stitching. But never drawing. I’ve always enjoyed studying a good drawing, of course, but particularly those that bordered on surreal, like M.C. Escher or Picasso. I never bothered to take the time to create replicas of what I could see, when I could create abstract work out of my own head.

Fused glass bowl I made in high school

Painting of mine from 2013

I am still probably not what would be considered a good drawer, but I am certainly better, in the sense that I now know how to approach a project properly: break it down, order Thai food, don’t panic. Coffee helps too. One thing I do think I accomplished was putting my best foot forward on my assignments, but through effort rather than skill. The number of hours I put in (especially for the last three assignments) encompassed most every superhero movie I know, a significant portion of the series Bones, and about half the stand-up specials on Netflix. In the end though, I was able to produce drawings I was proud of, and which also had ridiculously elaborate narratives, thanks to the sheer amount of time I spent both working on and thinking about them.

This class has certainly changed aspects of how I view buildings and landscapes. When I drove home for Thanksgiving, I thought wow, that mountain ridge would be gorgeous in charcoal. When I arrived at the front of my house I thought oh, that wraparound porch would be a bitch. To be honest, I would like to draw that mountain, and maybe even give the house a shot. And at least I wont be bashing in anyone’s kneecaps with my drawing board on the bus to Smith. I certainly like the idea of being able to take something someone likes, like a favorite superhero or landscape, and give it to them. But that certainly doesn't mean I plan on giving up my weird abstract stuff!