Sketching in Istanbul with Francis D. K. Ching |
Sketching Istanbul with Francis D.K. Ching
To draw is to make marks on a surface which graphically represent the likeness o something. This process of transcribing images is as simple, yet powerful human act of visual expression. While it is firmly rooted in our ability to see, drawing can never recreate the reality we see; it can only make visible our perceptions of that outer reality and the inner visions of the mind’s eye. In the process of drawing, we create a separate reality which parallels our experiences. Such graphic representations are a vital means of recording our observations, giving form to what we visualize, and communicating our thoughts and conceptions.
At the heart of all drawing is an interactive process of seeing, visaulizing, and expressing images. The images we seegive rise to our discovery of the world; the images we visualize enable us to think in visual terms and to understand what we see; the images we draw allow us to express and comminicate our thoughts and perceptions.
In drawing, we make marks on a surface in an attempt to graphically represent our perception and understanding of the outer reality we see and the inner imagery of the mind’s eye. Drawing thus is a vital means of expression and a natural response to what we see and visualize. It creates a separate world of images which speak to the eye.
A drawn image becomes part of our visual world, and any power it has to express and to communicate relies on our ability to see its graphic resemblance to what we know and understand. The clarity of its message and the significance of its meaning depends on our ability to look into the image, read its strokes, and discern the pattern and relationships they establish.
From the book by Francis D. K. Ching: "Drawing: A Creative Process"