ABSTRACT
Chapter 15 brings the book to a conclusion in a discussion of enduring meanings of observation drawing that is based on the foregoing chapters. A key characteristic of the conception of “focal practice” is focused attention that is experienced as both work and pleasure; I examine how this quality of attention is experienced in observation drawing by elaborating on the ways it contributes to the quality of practitioners’ lives. Drawing composes and orders; it engages mind and body in a material practice; it is a lifelong vocation and it renews wonder. The chapter, and the book, concludes with the claim that observation drawing warrants a place in general education, as well as in the education of artists, that drawing will continue to thrive because it is a human practice that deepens our humanity by giving us access to keener perception, greater understanding, empathy, and wonder.
