“Drawing is Bigger than Art”

3/13/20 Appropos to nothing except that it's part of my daily drawing practice.

A while back I mentioned the exchange I had with someone who had questioned the value of drawing if the result isn’t good. “Do you think it’s folly for someone who likes art a great deal but still draws like a kid to keep drawing?” I tried to explain my belief that the act of drawing has value far beyond whatever shows up on the paper.

Two friends on social media recently shared items that address much of what I was trying to express. The first is an excellent TED Talk by Ralph Ammer, an artist, animator, writer and design educator. While most people see drawing as an artistic skill, it’s much larger than that – it is a thinking skill.

The second is an interview with David Gentleman, age 90, a British artist who still draws daily. This bit of wisdom spoke directly to me:

“Drawing is always a challenge. If drawing was easy, it would be boring. What I really like is that it is extremely interesting. It teaches you instantly how to look at something more in depth than anything else would make you look.”