Benny Andrews, drawn by Alice Neel

This drawing by Alice Neel sets the tone for our courses. It is a drawing of an encounter, of mutual fascination — a drawing about being lost in drawing, and about being absorbed in what we're observing. Each mark is an instinctive response to the moment: the person, the light, the hair, the conversation.

If you compare the eyes of the sitter, you'll see they're really quite different from one another in their rendering. This may be a reflection of movement, but it's also a reflection of what truly matters in this drawing. Rather than anatomical accuracy — the yardstick most of us judge our own drawings by — what matters here is expressing something felt: everything which is seen, and unseen.

When we look at this drawing, we see two people, and the interest they have in each other. It's this interest that brings the drawing to life. If we, as artists, allow ourselves to be truly interested in what we're drawing, everything in this world will return our gaze with as much wide-eyed attention as Benny Andrews does here — a tiny piece of popcorn, a skyscraper, a stranger, a best friend.

This is where Line by Line comes from.