Thoughts On Drawing

           From a young age my mother continuously signed me up for art classes at the local community center. I dibbled and dabbled, inspired by my older brother who is an incredible artist. I was never really as well rounded as him as an artist so, seeing my artistic tendencies, he urged me to try oil painting. Oil painting came much more naturally to me and I felt that I was pretty good at it. Still, I knew that if I wanted to improve my painting skills I needed to get more comfortable with drawing since that’s the foundation I begin my oil paintings on. I decided to take this class in the hopes that I could become a better drawer as well as expand myself beyond my typical science classes.

            At first, drawing was very daunting for me. It was different from the free stroke and less constrained nature I was used to in oil painting. It took me unnecessarily long to finish simple drawings and sketches because I kept drawing lines, not liking them, erasing them, and doing them over and over again. I consider myself a perfectionist so I kept doing this until I was satisfied with it, no matter how many times it took me. As the semester went on, I became more comfortable with drawing and I didn’t over think it as much as I used to. I just went straight to it and tried to apply the free form techniques I use when I paint. This approach helped me a lot. I also became more comfortable with different mediums like charcoal and using different techniques like smearing pencil with a tissue or my finger. This allowed me to apply some of my painting skills to my drawings. Looking back at my earlier drawings and comparing them to the more recent ones, I definitely see that I improved my drawing skills. Another thing I can attribute my improvement over the semester to was the nudge Professor Fick gave me to try new things and push myself to new limits. I took his advice and picked subjects I felt would be difficult for me and in the end I feel that they turned out nicely! If I hadn’t been pushed I would’ve just continued doing simple line drawings and would not have improved my skills.

I thoroughly enjoy drawing now. I find it a good pass time as well as a time to think and just take a break from the usual science related homework I have. Before this semester I didn’t do much drawing, but I’m really glad I challenged myself and decided to take this class. I look forward to continuing drawing and filling my sketchbook with more sketches!