So it dawned on me that life drawing–fine art, in general– is nothing more than algebra.

“But Tahnee! That’s ART, not MATH!” you exclaim.

True, dear reader, in the academic sense– but here’s how I like to look at this. I may be a lousy mathematician when it comes to numbers, but not when it comes to visual algebra.

X = Y.

You’re trying to make both sides equal. Look at this equation in a life drawing session. X = the paper in front of the artist, Y = the model on the stage. The artist is trying to make the page in front of them resemble that model on the stage; trying to make it equal what they’re seeing. When the page’s drawing = the model, or when X = Y, the equation is balanced.

I now declare myself a proficient algebratician.