The Path to Drawing at Duke

As a girl who grew up drawing crooked stick figures as people, I have to say that my path to drawing also hasn't been the straightest of lines or the easiest of times. However, because of this, the rewards have always been high.

Once I got into drawing in high school, I took our AP Studio Art courses and managed to convince myself that I would never take an art class again. Not that I don't love the feeling of charcoal in my hands or get a thrill off of very keenly observing and copying as a draftsperson, but because it limited me in the perfecting hours I had with my copy of the world. I didn't have unlimited hours to create the hyperrealistic art I strived to have but instead fell short of because of deadlines. However, after my high school course was over I began to explore the expressive feel of figure drawing.

Now here I am, 2 years into college and a declared Visual Arts major. Who would've thought the girl who couldn't (and sometimes still can't) draw a straight line would make more than half her life envelop the arts at Duke? I sure didn't. However, doing so has very much kept all of my interests in the arts a big part of my life and given me more time to divulge in it.

Coming into this class, I expected to be able to satisfy my need for hyperrealistic work, and yet, I think I found something else altogether. Indeed I revisited discipline and practice in drawing that I hadn't been able to formally conduct in the past 2 years, however, I also discovered a new drawing style and voice for myself that is a lot more expressive than my former self, as well as a lot more luminous. Because we too had deadlines and the schedules of busy college students, what started as a disappointment in not being able to capture a style I wished to embody became a conscious decision to find my artistic voice in highly contrasted pieces lit in the dark or darkness in the light. I thank this class and Prof. Fick for giving me this opportunity to find myself in our short portfolios.

I really look forward to exploring a greater mixture of this hyperrealism I enjoy accomplishing alongside an expressive and interesting subject matter through the use of interesting sources of light. I hope to explore different lighting to illuminate my pieces and give it a true glowing feel. Furthermore, this class has become my evidence that I have no excuse not to create at Duke and that slowing down time to observe and draw can be both enjoyable and give a sense of accomplishment through experimentation I went through this semester, unlike the stress it used to give me in high school. Overall, I feel I have grown as an artist and as an individual being able to accept and become proud of my art for what it is.

I've enjoyed spending time with all of you and look forward to seeing how we all grow in the future!