Take a look at this value scale. See how the values’ right sides look lighter as they get nearer the darker value to the right. The opposite thing happens on the left side. Well, those values are solid. They appear to be gradated because of an optical illusion. Do you draw what you see, or what is really there in a situation like this? I use something I call “intuitive” drawing when I need to draw complicated values.
Intuitive drawing is a term I made up to describe drawing guided by sense, not rational thought. If I drew the value scale with my rational mind, I would block off each square and make sure the entire area was the same value. If I drew the value scale by sense, I would adjust my drawing until it looked right by constant comparison and a sense of how to work with the pencil to create the effect. At this level of understanding, the pencil becomes an extension of myself. I don’t have to “think” about drawing anymore. I draw what I see until it’s right.
Something happens at the intuitive drawing level that’s similar to writing poetry. A poet can take language beyond simple words and create emotion on paper. Visual artists can do that once they know their tools so well that they no longer have to think about them.