Thoughts on Drawing- Mo

To be quite honest, I don't remember the last time I have taken a formal drawing class in school. High school freshman year, I took an art elective, but it was more painting oriented than focused on drawing. Yet again, the first time I carried a sketchbook was through the middle of my senior year in high school and I didn't really begin to draw in it till maybe the summer after that year. I carried that sketchbook everywhere across campus and would sit on the bench and draw what I saw or what simply made me happy. But I knew one day that I would try to enroll in this class, because drawing was one of those therapeutic activities that made me calm and was a great break from all the stressful work that Duke can provide at times.

So I tried- for two semester to enroll and finally I got into this course. All I can say is that this class has renewed my love for drawing. It has challenged me to become more creative with my pieces, to be observant of the positioning of my study objects, the my perspective and depth, and to focus on the making my line straight. I learned amazing techniques and discovered my tool preferences (pencil, not charcoal and small blending stick, not big blending stick) as I have crafted what is "my style" of drawing. When I look at the drawings I have produced for this course, all I can think is that there is something amount them that indicates they're mine. Maybe its the meticulous detail I had put into my line work or the shading that I do in one direction (I like my shading that way). I also love how I had to opportunity to create pieces that are meaningful to me and are representative of my various life experiences. 

Again to be quite honest, and I tell my roommate this- drawing, for me, is an amazing out-of-body experience. I find it amazing how I can imagine what I want, and sketch it down on a paper. Then look at the completed piece and ask myself "Did I really just draw that?"