Thoughts on Drawing

I found that drawing was a lot more work than I expected it to be. However, unlike a lot of other classes, I enjoyed doing the work, but still I had some trouble keeping up with the sketchbook and doing the assignment drawings on Tuesday nights. I didn’t particularly like the drawings that we did at the beginning of the class, but the ones later one when we took two weeks for each assignment were more enjoyable for me even though they took much longer. I also had trouble adding photographic elements into the last two drawings because I struggle with scale. However these drawings were still very fun for me because of the challenge they posed. I found that while I liked using the compressed charcoal more when drawing, my drawings turned out better when I used the graphite. I wasn’t the biggest fan of using the charcoal pencils though. I think the main thing I learned in this class was how to draw foliage, especially with the final three drawings, particularly the one that I drew of the gardens.

Previously to this class I had taken a couple drawing classes in high school, but most of my art experience is in painting and ceramics. This drawing class is the most intensive drawing class I have taken. I think that some of the techniques that I learned and that I developed in this class can be applied to painting, yet I’m not sure how to apply them to ceramics as much.

Originally I took this class because a visual studies course is an art history major requirement and because Debbie and I wanted to take a fun class together. Even though it was a required class for me, I had a lot of fun taking it. While I won’t be taking another drawing or visual studies class next semester, I may try to take one again later while I am here at Duke – likely only if I have a less work intensive schedule because it turned out being more time consuming than I originally thought. Overall though, I really enjoyed taking drawing this semester.

-Stephanie Bowen