Learning to draw isn’t learning to use a pencil. It’s learning to actually look.

The difficulty in drawing is not in the hand. You draw the symbol stored in your head instead of the thing actually in front of you, so eyes come out as almond shapes and houses get chimneys they never had. Getting better is mostly learning to see what is there and to stop memory quietly filling in the gaps.

Try one slow piece of observation this week with no interest in whether it looks good. Twenty minutes on a single object, checking each angle against reality. The skill travels well past the page.