Tina Zhao- A journey that has just started

Drawing has been distant to me before college. Although I’ve always liked to appreciate art works in museums, I felt those masterpieces were too far to reach. I doodled on the margins of textbooks and drew simple cartoons, but it never occurred to me that one day I would be finishing full size drawings. I thought I did not have the skills that require years of training and I never tried.

But going abroad for college has opened up myself in so many ways, including the perception on drawing. As a freshman, ever since the arrival at Duke, I have learned to embrace new things and explore new opportunities. Art has been my most important discovery so far. Starting from “Night at Nasher” party during orientation, I felt art has never been so close to me. Walking among Miró’s paintings and sculptures, I was able to experience the emotions and aspirations inside the artist. I thought maybe I could also express myself in drawing, and drawing 199 has provided me with the opportunity.

To my surprise, the class is not one of those technique-based class that strictly teaches students the skills of drawing the most basic geometries. Instead, the class taught me how to see the world with an artist’s eye. After paying attention to shading and value, negative space, the foreground, midground and background in composition in class assignments, I changed the way I view ordinary scenes. I figured how light casts on an object and brings the three-dimensionality. I compared the textures on neighboring surfaces and get the sense of roughness or smoothness. I noticed the different shades of green in tress and different shades of grey in clouds. I visually analyzed everything around me and reflected why I see what I see. Then, I tried to convert what I see into how I draw. I controlled the darkness of shadowing and mixed color to match the nature. I felt sincere happiness in creating art.

I’ve just started the journey on drawing and I’m excited to see where the road leads me. I enjoy spending Saturday’s afternoon in the garden and drawing with my friends, talking over how the lines flow. Drawing has become a passion for me that I can’t really articulate. I will just continue this inspiration in life and see the world in the new perspective.