Elise Cohen

ENG101 - Hellstrom
Essay #1

Drawing is a universal tool of communication. From youth to adulthood, everyone has

drawn something at least once in their lives. As a purely visual language, it’s one of the first
languages one learns, in order to get their thoughts across quickly. Consequently, it’s no wonder
there are so many artists with different styles! There are infinite ways to put one’s visions on a
page.
One way to do that is through the mediums they use. Be it simple, #2 school pencils to
pricey bottles of ink, the potential for uses as an artist’s toll exists everywhere. Typically, if you
can make marks with it, you can use it to draw with. In prehistoric times, drawing occurred on
cave walls, using stones to etch images and crushed berries as paint. In comparison to what we
use, that sounds rudimentary, but it’s no different from the thought behind art today. The only
difference is the refinement of tools.
An artist can draw what they see, or what they imagine. If they can picture it in their
head, then they can slap it on a canvas in front of them. That’s something that makes an artist’s
work so diverse: when we view their work, what we see is somebody else’s perspective, and
we’re viewing it through a very different lens. In fact, it gives us insight into another human
experience entirely, merely by walking through their portrayal of the world. This is why it’s
impossible for an artist to “get better at art”; rather, they’re getting better at communicating.
However, while cave paintings tell stories, art does not require a narrative to be
considered “good”. Sometimes, when we as an audience are shown an image, we’re meant to
read a story from it. Other times, emotions can be invoked. But many artists simply want to share
their experiences with the world. It could be a drawing of a scene they walked past on the way to
school, or even something as simple as a flower they found intriguing. Whatever the case, that
artist will strive for the cooperation of their materials and target audiences, in hopes of
expressing something for us to take away from viewing their work. Art is meant to persuade
someone else’s views unto our own, but in complete silence.
Art is meant for everyone. There are no prerequisites to pen a picture, nor standards to be
held to. It serves an alternate purpose for all who utilize it as a way to tell their viewership
something that they can’t put into words, and therefore MUST show us visually. No two people
will share the same, individual experience, and furthermore, will never be able to portray the
exact same idea. This is why it’s important for us as people to be able to express our mind: to
teach our fellow human beings something that they might’ve never learned otherwise, had they
not come into contact with that particular art piece. If drawing is a language, then art is a
conversation.