My Thoughts: March 28, 2007

I was given a suggestion that I should write about a hobby of mine such as drawing. I think that this might be a little odd, but I have decided that I will at least give it a try.

Drawing: to sketch or to trace figures; create a picture or depict by sketching. What exactly is the ability to draw? Why is it that some people are blessed with this ability and others are not? Is it hereditary or is it learned? Perhaps it is both…

When I truly think about it, I think that everybody has the ability to draw, but their abilities have different limitations than everybody else. The extents in which they can use and control their skills are different and unique from everybody around them. Everybody has the ability to pick up some sort of drawing utensil and move it along the paper, even if they are drawing “stick-people”. I believe it is how well each person can control his utensil and move it along the surface that determines how much drawing ability they actually have.

The ability to draw may be connected with how people view life. Some may look at a still life and see the items in simple shapes. They may draw this still life using the simple shapes that they see and may call it “abstract”. Some may even look at human faces and use this technique to later become famous painters.

When I watch myself draw, I find that I have to visualize what I am drawing, or have a visual reference before me. I must intently study the visualization and watch how each line flows and connects to the next. I have to watch for sudden changes or smooth curves, while trying to imitate the lines in my drawing. If I see the world differently than another person, then our drawings may have differences, but if we both see the same thing, then they should be fairly close.

Styles in drawing clearly show when people draw things from their minds. When you look through an artist’s collection of works, you can see the similarities in each piece. The may use the same type of eye in every piece, or have the same curve when they draw the muzzle of a horse. Why is this? Why isn’t each piece completely different from the next when they used a different reference? Perhaps artists have mindsets in which they view the world, and draw in this fashion, therefore resulting in an “artistic style”.

I am not sure what it is that actually enables a person to control their drawing utensil and what determines their skill, but some of it may be hereditary. In my family, my grandmother on my father’s side paints, passing her talent to my father who draws, who then passes it on to me. It may be that I got my artistic talent from higher branches on my family tree, or perhaps it is just a coincidence.

I believe that it is possible to learn to draw, even when you aren’t very talented when you start. I have heard of well-known artists who were not good when they started but kept at it and were soon drawing masterpieces. I am sure that being artistic is a skill that can be learned and taught, especially since there are art classes in this world and practice clearly shows improvement. Artistic talent probably has to play in with how well each person learns and improves in their artwork however, when very talented people may not have to try as hard as someone who isn’t as talented.

Is there really an explanation to why some are more talented in art than others? Why is it that some people are more artistically gifted? Can art truly be learned? Perhaps there are no clear explanations to these questions and perhaps we will never find the answers. Whatever the solution may be, I’ll keep on drawing…