Josie's Thoughts on Drawing

Coming into this course, I already had a deep appreciation for artists. I think art is such an important component of living a happy life, and so I have always admired all kinds of people who create art. Since I am a dancer, I consider myself to be an artist of sorts, and I have always looked up to certain dancers that inspired me. Now, after completing Drawing 100, I share a similar kind of appreciation for illustrators. I can honestly say that I had no idea how much effort and time must go into each and every piece an artist draws. Every part of every drawing must be so well thought out in order for it to make the right kind of impression on the viewer. Even the smallest areas of shading and texture can make a huge difference to the effect a piece has overall.

Another thing that drawing has helped me with is refining my artist's eye. I know that in ballet, it is extremely important to develop a good eye. This allows the dancer to really understand things about other dancers' work and also helps them improve their own dancing. After taking drawing, I feel like I see things differently now. I was able to watch my work change over the course of the semester, and I was also able to observe other people's work and learn from them as well. In drawing so many detailed pieces, I was forced to see things I had never really seen before. And what I realized is that art is all around us, every day. Now when I walk around campus, I find myself noticing the negative space between bars in a railing, or taking note of how certain areas of grass on the quad seem to have a slightly different texture from other areas. Now I see shadows everywhere I look and I notice how different they look at different times of the day. I have become more aware of how the same place can look completely different on a different day, simply depending on the weather. In this way, drawing at Duke has really opened my eyes and expanded my understanding of what art is all about.