Is drawing important for artists?

Looking at Art:

Paintings are composed primarily of shapes and colors, whereas drawings consist of lines and tonal values which usually represent something. Drawing is often a technique used to plan an art project. Today, the traditional drawing part of art making can easily be skipped altogether. Photographic images can be traced, abstract art can begin with the spontaneous application of color and computer images can be copied. So, why should artists master drawing techniques or even use drawing at all? The answer for me is that drawing is an excellent practice for learning to see with precision and it enables an artist to think visually. Do you remember drawing as a child? The fun that children find in this activity often disappears at a certain age when kids become more critical of their art. Drawing is not easy.

Work in the Studio:

In my experience working from a live model over the years, I have acquired a respect for drawing as a skill and as a creative tool. In order to represent what I see in real life on the page, I am challenged to carefully observe the three-dimensional world and then use the illusion of three dimensions while I work on a flat piece of paper. Looking up at the model I must remember what I see and then look at the paper to create. One of the greatest challenges in this practice is to observe, with great attention, the relationship of parts to the whole, maintaining proportion on the page.

Reclining Figure Relief, Ceramic Sculpture, 11” x 15” x 2”

Reclining Figure Relief was made from a drawing of a live model.