Contributed by Marty Lane (as seen in Vamonos on 9-11)
A couple weeks ago I sat in on the introductory class for Art 101 at ENMU-Ruidoso. Bruce DeFoor was instructor. I am teaching the night version of the same class, so I wanted to watch Bruce in action. Bruce works at setting fears to rest in the hearts of students who all hold some degree of apprehension about what the next fifteen weeks hold for them.
He began by writing on the whiteboard: “Seeing 101”. There were puzzled looks. He then began to explain that the essence of good drawing is learning how to truly see your subject.
I was so pleased to hear him speak in ways that resonate with my fundamental philosophy that drawing is a learned skill and that our job in learning or cultivating this skill is training ourselves to be always looking closer.
As I was doing some nature studies recently, I was distracted by my English Bulldog scuffling by the window in my living room. He was tossing something in the air, completely absorbed in the tiny object. I went closer and discovered his “toy” was a honeybee that he had successfully murdered and not dismembered. Instead of flushing the bee down the toilet, I impaled him on an Art Gum eraser and proceeded to examine him closely with a lighted magnifying glass. The next two hours were invested in recording what I observed at different angles, wholly absorbed in my study. I discovered black shapes on his belly, perfectly round shapes carefully set on each section of his abdomen, a fine double hair on his tail end, and what appeared to be fur on his head. In looking at his head, I discovered three miniscule shiny black knobs between his eyes. In doing some research I learned he was actually a she – a female honeybee with her stinger still intact – and that the black knobs were simple eyes. I recorded this all in my journal.
“A waste of time” or “You should be painting”? Possibly. These are the voices that try to deter me from my task of learning to see. This past week I have been doing a highly detailed drawing of a piece of wood. Each day I make a bit of progress, in no hurry to finish and with no prospect of a sale but with the firm conviction that I am making great progress in building a foundation for greater fluency and honesty in my art.
Marty Lane is 32-year resident of Ruidoso; her studio, Painted Surfaces: Looking Closer, is in Ruidoso Downs. Her primary medium for the past twelve years has been watercolor, in addition to other works and home décor in acrylic. Her loyalty through the years, however, has remained with drawing – seeing. She is currently enjoying the new challenges of teaching drawing and digital imaging classes at ENMU-Ruidoso.
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