How fascinating the level of intimacy offered by the practice of drawing.

While visiting a friends home in Southern Arizona, I returned to the spot atop a nearby hill where I had sat and drawn the surrounding landscape a year prior. It is a captivating view of the windswept high desert mountains rising up from a stream of green cottonwoods and framed by the still-bare oak trees. 

When I crested the hill and saw again this view sprawled out before me I had such a feeling of familiarity, like seeing an old friend. I was reminded of this phenomenon that by drawing a thing (or rather, a being) you become so much more acquainted with it than by simply looking. You can integrate within yourself it’s curves, angles, perceived distances. The textures, lights and shadows….it’s essence. Upon drawing it, it becomes part of you, and you leave a piece of yourself in exchange.

I believe that it is through these experiences and practices of becoming intimately acquainted with our surroundings- the natural world we live in- that we can foster the deep love for the earth that is needed to solve many of the issues facing the world today. By attentively observing what is going on around us; how the Ravens dance with the Hawks in defense of their territory, the directions the Wind blows, which Agave’s have lived long enough to erect their stalks in preparation for their final moments of life, what time of year the Creeks begin to flow and how the Desert environment reacts in accordance, we can see how rich, vibrant, alive and interdependent the world is. We can also begin to understand, even feel, how our actions impact what and who is around us. What a revolutionary act in our modern society, this active and attentive observation. To engage all the senses, be immersed in the here and now, and listen to the whispers carried to us upon the wind. To learn how to gather it all up; the hidden meanings, the unseen interactions, the being-ness, and translate it into an image is a lifelong practice filled with unraveling and re-grasping. 

So, I encourage you to grab your preferred drawing tools and step out into nature and into your wildness. No matter your skills, no matter what it looks like. It’s not important if you ‘don’t know how to draw’, or if what you make isn’t pretty or doesn’t look like you want it to, it’s about being present, its about the practice. Engage the journey of learning how to see, how to listen, how to be, and the world will get richer before your eyes.

Almost ten years ago I was on my first overseas experience- a 16 month solo trip beginning in Australia. That entire trip for me was about pushing my boundaries to the very limit. I was young and needed to challenge myself. I wanted to grow, I wanted to be uncomfortable, I wanted to know myself and what I could handle. Turns out, I never came across anything I couldn’t handle in the end. Be it hitchhiking, fully trusting people I had never met before, sleeping on the streets, being robbed, all kinds of sicknesses and injuries. The encounters with ticks, bedbugs, lice, spiders and snakes… even having a close call with death in the wilderness. I got through it all, and kept coming back for more. 

See, I had decided that at every crossroads, every decision, I was going to choose the harder option. The uncomfortable option. The option with the most unknowns. All on purpose. It was an exercise in learning who I am, what my boundaries are, what worked for me and and what didn’t.  It was, at times, a torturous way to approach my travels, but very important in becoming who I am today.

Though I don’t travel as much as I used to, nor in the same way, I still find this mindset showing up in different things that I do, especially in my art. I look for the areas that I have resistance to, the skills that are underdeveloped, the subjects I avoid incorporating for lack of confidence or know-how. They become painfully obvious to me, and so that is where I dive.

I used to avoid realism like that plague, then let myself explore those skills. Drawing people was always a big challenge, and so I dove into portraiture. I now find landscapes to be overwhelming, thus, I know where I will eventually need to push myself.

I think this approach of acknowledging your weaknesses and testing your capabilities is a great way to become a more well rounded human, and a more capable artist.