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Sketching the Landscape: Exploring a Sense of Place

Drawing in the landscape creates an awareness of place that is a distinct form of information gathering and of understanding the landscape setting. To illustrate this point, the author first establishes a difference between the terms environment and landscape, a key step toward achieving an authentic sense of landscape. The act of awareness in drawing involves our imaginative perception of space, as reflected in our cultural identity and with our physical senses. For instance, the perception of space, how we frame a view, and how we define its boundaries are critical dimensions in design. But drawing is also just as much a response to our cultural identity. Thus, each drawing is a unique re-construction of one’s perception of space, a critical aspect of how one proceeds with visual research.

The author illustrates these points with personal sketches drawn in the last three years and concludes with comments about drawing and education. Although considered a more traditional means of expression, drawing involves a form of commitment that is closer to that of design (place, process, or research) than any other medium of representation. The author suggests ways to reintegrate drawing in studio and in travel, not only as a mode of representation, but rather as one of perception, interpretation, and reflection.