Day 1: Drawing Assessment

Friday was the first day of my drawing training. To start out, my girlfriend Cathy wanted me to draw a still life just to see what level I am at and then go from there. Above is what I had to draw. I saw that and thought it was a lot to draw. I was a little overwhelmed before I got to drawing. I have never really attempted to sit down and really draw something before. But, I took my time and did my best. I just drew a simple pencil drawing of this. Cathy just wanted me to try to capture the shapes of the objects and do a little bit of shading to see how I do.
The process of doing my drawing was a little frustrating. Drawing a picture takes time and patience. I sometimes found myself getting impatient and wanting to stop, but I really want to learn how to draw so I kept going. In the end it was a rewarding experience. I felt good knowing that I put in a lot of effort. And, I actually didn't do too bad. So, now Cathy is going to go on from here and make lessons for me each week to further my drawing learning. Below I have another picture. This one is me in the frustrating process of trying to draw these objects.

Getting Started

When I started thinking about this project, Itried to think about something I have never been able to do. I was looking at all of the suggestions that were given and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I have never been able to draw. I don't think I have ever drawn a picture and had it look like what it is supposed to. I want to simply learn how to draw in pencil. This way if I need to draw a picture for someone to help them understand an example, they will actually know what I'm talking about. The picture that I am showing with this post demonstrates the current extent of my artistic abilities.

I think that learning to draw kind of ties in to our discussion from thursday about being heard. Being able to illustrate things for people will giving them a better understanding of what I am talking about and allow them to truly "hear" me. Learning this is very important to me because it is something I have always been terrible at. I go into my mom's elementary school and I see pictures by 7 year-olds that look better than anything I've ever done. I feel like I have a lot of useful skills and I just want to add drawing to that list. Learning how to draw will make me feel like a more well-rounded person.

This project turns out to be quite convenient for me because my girlfriend is an art education major. She has taken numerous drawing classes so she is an excellent artist. It works out well because she gets some practice teaching art and I get to learn a craft that I have never been able to do. She is going to start me off with the basics of drawing then move on from there. Hopefully by the end of the semester I will be able to produce something that people will look at and say, "Wow, I know what that is."