My first thought when I see something interesting is of the beauty of the subject- the contrasting lines, light and shade, and how light and the passage of time plays on what one sees. But primarily, I came to the lake for one of the boys to wash my car. I felt it was a waste of time and money to drop off the car and return later to pick it up in an hour.
Looking around, I saw this rusty old barge. I sat on a log, and started drawing. Every stroke got me thinking more and more, about the reason for drawing. It started with the caveman and his survivalist instinct of capturing the essence of the beasts he hunted down, before embarking on the hunt. Drawing started as a ritual in the struggle for survival. Then it became a celebration of events, a store of memories and memorabilia, and a delight in the beauty of life around us.
The invention of the pinhole camera, among other human achievements put to question the strength of the drawing as a store of memory. But as I stated before, drawing is more than all that. I must also add the ‘little’ aspect of drawing as a way of training the wrist to become more fluid or flexible. Some artists start the artwork from a sketch; and others, with a sketch. Drawing thus forms a primal basis for building on the idea. There are times when drawing is ‘the idea’. Again, as in points of view, these things depend on the audience. Art can either be a mirror, or a ‘being’. Investigations and interactions have a way of ‘growing’ art. Art is summarized in the drawing. Drawing can be the idea; the beginning of a new idea; or a suggestion. A drawing doesn’t necessarily stay alone. It points in all directions.
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