Thoughts on Drawing -- Kyle Harvey

Drawing has always been an interest of mine that has been forced on the back burner while more "practical" interests have taken to the forefront. In high school I had to choose to between the math and science courses that would impress top-tier universities and the drawing classes.

Although I wouldn't change my decision, taking this drawing course has encouraged me to look at art my own artistic abilities in a more concrete and impactful way. Although the practical side of me would prevent myself from majoring in just Art, the idea of double-majoring has become more and more appealing to me. As a potential computer science or mathematics major, I found it very helpful to take a course like drawing at the same time as the my other more rigorous, computational classes. This semester instead of taking breaks from studying triple integrals to do computer science homework, taking a break to do a drawing assignment was much more manageable. Although sometimes it became just as frustrating as solving an iterated integral, taking time out of my schedule to draw became a good way to relax.

One of the things I like most about drawing, particularly from observation, is that by concept it should be simple: "just observe the general shapes and differences in the amounts of light, and duplicate those onto your page." Simple enough. I have been drawing inconsistently from the time I could hold a pen and yet it has never been quite so simple. Although I've seen progress in my drawing abilities throughout my lifetime and particularly throughout this course, I still recognize a plethora of places for improvement.

Another reason I find drawing and artistic aptitude intriguing, is the concept of the Renaissance Man. Leonardo DaVinci, perhaps the epitome of the term, was a genius and excelled at virtually everything. He was an engineer, scientist, inventor, cartographer, anatomist, botanist and writer. Yet he still found it important to create art. "The Last Supper" and the "Mona Lisa" are undeniably, spectacular works of art, yet if Leonardo DaVinci were in the 21st century, it is unlikely that a man with such academic prowess, would take up Art as his specialization, when he could potentially cure cancer or become president in other specializations.

Although I do not anticipate becoming a professional artiest, in the future I hope that art and drawing will have a role in my everyday life. I am just beginning to see the many possibilities for an intersection between art and computer science  and art and mathematics, and hope to have plenty more time to explore these intersections.