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Knowledge Mushohwe Correspondent
THE misconception that art, and in particular drawing, should at best be treated as a hobby and never a form of profession is common among “business-oriented” people.

In tertiary institutions that offer a variety of qualifications in multiple disciplines, artists are often derided for choosing what is regarded as a meaningless career path.

Drawing is mocked by the ill-informed who are under the mistaken impression that it is a waste of time.

The artists themselves must shoulder some of the blame for the criticism their profession gets.

We have all probably come across an excellent artist, with “copies” so good that the naked eye struggles to distinguish between the drawing and the photograph.

Often, these artists have very little income flowing into their coffers.

To improve their ‘business’, they are at times forced to subsidise their services, drawing portraits, still lives, and other forms of artworks for next to nothing just for them to get by.

If a drawing artist, or any other artist for that matter, fails to properly value their products, they have only themselves to blame when the ‘suit-and-tie’ professionals mock them for their career choice.

Drawing has been compulsory for all of us since childhood.

For crèche and early primary education, drawing is the main subject.

But as we grow older, some students grow out of drawing but other only get better.

Better at drawing however does not necessarily translate to financial independence.

Whoever is excellent at drawing needs to clearly understand that without a purpose, whatever they produce is likely to be undervalued.

Art can only benefit a viewer if it has a function attached to it.

It is all very well that some forms of drawing are only developed so that views can have some aesthetic experience.

Yet aesthetic experience has commonly added value to old works rich with historical significance or products by the revered masters of the past generations.

The artist must be able to answer the crucial question, ‘why are you drawing?’ There are only a limited number of answers to the question, such as informative, marketing entertainment and educative purposes.

Sitting around town asking people to bring their pictures so that near-photographic representations are produced is no longer appealing to the public because the purpose of the artist is nearly the same as that of a camera that does the job more efficiently.

Furthermore, photo-editing computer programmes such as Adobe Photoshop can easily manipulate photographs into paintings, drawings or sketches within minutes.

A drawing can be worthless if it is not unique. It has to be different from what the computer or the camera or another artist can produce.

Style, the purpose of creating a drawing and the appearance of the final product, are key considerations in determining the value of the product. Some artists can take a picture of Oliver Mtukudzi and create an impressive ink or pencil impression that looks just like the original.

The drawing, if only occupying a space on a wall, has absolutely no real value because all it does is impress viewers with access to the wall.

Sadly, words cannot be exchanged for money.

However, if the artist was to work with the music icon and create the image as an album cover or for other promotional purposes, the drawing’s value would certainly rise.

Towards elections for example, several organisations put aside a budget for drawings that help to sell their concepts to the general public in general and the electorate in particular.

Messages denouncing the use of violence during campaigning; information showing steps that one takes at the polling stations and tackling issues surrounding dos and don’ts of an election are often illustrated by drawings.

Organisations are willing to pay in excess of $50 an hour for such illustrations.

Organisations in other industries offer similar deals for products promoting their messages.

Artists cannot simply draw to impress that girl that they wish to ask out. They also cannot draw so that they barely make a living.

A drawing, be it graphic art, life drawing, observation, still life or illustration can be used to entertain, inform or educate.

When a drawing carries a purpose, it has a target market that it is useful to.

And when art carries a message and is understood by an audience, it naturally becomes valuable.

An art student therefore must not simply strive to improve drawing technique and style, he/she must identify the type of messages that their products can carry because art for art’s sake worked in centuries gone past, because then life was not as expensive as it has become.

It was almost acceptable for abstract expressionist Vincent van Gogh to live in poverty because then, in the 19th century, the majority of the population was not far off.

Today’s life requires innovation and originality.

Carrying a message equals claiming relevance in an increasingly competitive creative sphere.