I have been reading a quite fascinating book by Chicago professor of art history James Elkins called "How To Use Your Eyes." Elkins devotes each chapter to examining every element of mundane things we likely take utterly for granted. He describes all the aspects of a drainage culvert, the causes of various cracks in oil paintings, the types and forms of sand grains, the elements of a sunset, the bones and muscles of a shoulder, a moth's wing, the human face and much more.

Reading the book drives me to draw. I just want to break down the objects into all the components he lists. By drawing the object and reading Elkins' analysis, I come to see exactly how each of these mysterious elements really works. It's like taking a machine apart and laying all the parts out on a table, then discussing them with a master mechanic.
Drawing is the act of breaking down the evidence of one's eyes into component parts, but how much easier and more interesting it becomes if you understand what the point of each part is. I had no idea that every muscle in the face has a name, that there are specific labels for every twist and turn in the construction of my ear. I can feel how my expressions are formed, see where bone turns to muscle, how gravity and time cause my features to change. My perceptions become much less sketchy as I read and more filled with wonder at the world and my ignorance.
I have also been using the extarordinary posemaniacs site to provoke my preconceptions and to draw the human body from every conceivable angle. The more I learn about the function of the parts I am drawing, the more pleasurable (but not much easier) the task becomes.