Thoughts on Drawing at Duke

Before taking drawing at Duke, I always assumed that I knew how to draw. I doodled on all of my papers, and I figured that if i really needed to "draw," I would be able to do a pretty good job. However, from day one of drawing class, I learned that there were so many techniques about drawing that I would have not known had it not been for taking this class. It seems like a very simple idea--to draw what you see in front of you--however, when we began to go about this on the first day of class, I learned how difficult that can actually be. This class has equipped me with skills that allow me to see more closely and draw what I see.

Even the beginning level of drawing at Duke has dramatically improved my ability, not even to draw, but just to see, what is in front of me. It really changed the way that I look at the world, especially Duke's campus. When I walk through archways or past buildings, I think about how I would go about drawing them for class. I get excited about how I would shade them, or how fun it would be to see the objects come to life from a blank sheet of paper. Now, rather than wanting to take a picture of something, I want to draw it--and I now have the ability to (or at least more of an ability than I did before).

Even as I look through my sketchbook as I prepare to turn it in, I think it's fun to see how my sketches have improved even if I spent the same amount of time on them. In the beginning of my sketchbook, I tried to draw a face the way I always have. Now, after learning to observe and draw, I later in my sketchbook was able to draw faces from pictures. Although they do not look exactly like the person I am trying to draw, they are improving and now look realistic.

I cannot wait to take Intermediate Drawing at Duke. I will be able to further expand my drawing skills. Drawing has been a great way to round out my schedule as a chemistry major. It gives me a break from numbers and equations, and produces a product that I can be proud of and constantly improve at.