The function of an eyelash is to shade the eye somewhat from the sun and to keep debris out. Yet, when one looks at the eyelash mass we can see how beautifully it integrates with the iris. It creates a dark, calligraphic accent that captures our attention and our imagination. This seems to be one of the keys to representing nature; in order to capture beauty you must first understand the function of the thing being depicted.
                       In painting, one cannot hope to rival nature, yet we can use natures logic to create visually stimulating artwork. Every brushstroke that's placed should have a function. Every decision that's made about color and value and placement should somehow lead to our ultimate goal of creating an alternate world where the artist creates beauty that's inspired by nature, yet, of necessity, completely different. Verissimilitude might capture a scene with precision, but unless the artist has a vision or design, mimesis will not appear natural. It may seem strange that this is so, but I've seen it in the work of many painters. The functional aspect of the painting does not correspond with the beauty the artist is attempting to capture. Most scientific illustrations are not beautiful, because it is not their function to be beautiful.
                      In the figure drawing class that I'm currently taking, the instructor is really pushing me to learn anatomy. I've been a little resistant because I've always been pretty much of an eyeball realist. I figured that I would be fine with the parts of the anatomy that I could see and that whatever I couldn't see, I didn't need to bother about. I was also worried that my drawings would begin to have that clunky look that I see in the work of some artists who put their figures together like G.I. Joes. They know all the parts and where they go, but their drawings lack grace. In spite of this, I have been studying to learn the visible parts of anatomy and how they work and the names of the larger internal masses. It appears to be helping to improve my block-ins. The idea of the block-in is to capture the abstract quality of the large forms and the basic light and dark divisions. Yet some forms are resistant to being drawn that way. I'm thinking in particular of a bent, foreshortened, knee.
                        When I'm drawing the figure now, I'm thinking about the relationship of the head to the ribcage and of the ribcage to the pelvis. I'm thinking about how they relate as shapes, as forms in space, but also how they flow along an invisible curve. In other words, not just how they function as body parts, but how they harmonize into beautiful and graceful gestures. I'm starting to get that learning how things work can give me insight into understanding how my paintings work and how I can get them to work even better.