My Thoughts On Drawing

Ever since I can remember I've had a passion for creating. Typically, my creativity has spawned into music, painting, screen printing, or random arts & crafts projects impulsively tackled on a rainy day or weekend. ARTSVIS 199, however, changed that. Before this course, I had never imagined that I'd spend so much time on solely drawing with a pencil and paper. Sure whenever I painted I would sketch beforehand but I always viewed this as fast, extraneous art merely supplementary to my final piece.

As my first art class ever, ARTSVIS 199 served as an eyeopening introduction into what other forms of creating I could do. Even though I am still very new to drawing, I found that I could manipulate my pencils, charcoals, and erasers in ways that had never even crossed my mind before. 

Above are a few of my pieces from my sketchbook from this year. From looking back upon these works, I realize I am appreciative of how I can take a photograph, memory, or even an idea and turn it into something that's malleable and palpable through drawing. The fourth picture from the top, for example, represents a picture that I took while on a road trip during my semester abroad in New Zealand. While my drawing doesn't have each tussock carefully depicted, it is as a whole truly representative of the landscape. I also have found that because drawing is something that is created and therefore manipulated, it is possible to input emotion or even a feeling into a piece. By reassessing my New Zealand landscape photo, I can see that I somewhat subconsciously drew the road so that it appears almost as if it is a stream. While this can undoubtedly be attributed to my beginner status as a drawer, it can also be ascribed to the feeling that I have when I look back upon this particular photograph. At this time, I felt as though I was floating down a river towards the unknown in New Zealand and this narrative of exploration was able to be conveyed to my audience because of my drawing technique. 

The last photo that I included above is representative of how I hope to meld my newfound passion for drawing with my past artistic interests. While it is no doubt one of my less technical pieces, it is indicative of how I hope to blend drawing, painting, and creativity. In the future, I plan to continue drawing and I plan to use painting, screen printing, watercoloring, and more to help bring my creations to life.