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Electron clouds, hmm? Well, that would explain, I suppose, why so many of my earlier drawings have disappeared. Some of the more recent ones are looking a little fuzzy, too.
No, the spider's silk isn't a geometric construct of the mind, which is precisely why its "molecularly bulky" presence is optically available to us. And the best we can do is to use our implements -- whether 6H pencil sandpapered to a needle point, or a rigger loaded with paint -- to represent that inherent width, shape, bulk, "line" as we understand it when we say "draw a line." And when we set that graphite or that brush down and begin to draw, it's a pleasure, I think, to try as closely as possible to mimic nature's placement and design. It is also my prerogative as the artist to adjust that design according to my own purposes, but I do so with the confidence that I'm in charge of where I choose to locate and define lines, shapes, values and colour. Hundreds of hours' worth of drawing practice, like hundreds of hours of batting practice, increases the odds that I'll knock one out of the park.
Drawing is a useful skill, but I agree that many painters carry out a career's worth of fine work without having learned to manipulate the fine line. Others, such as Mary Cassatt, have left behind beautiful pencil and drypoint drawings that are stunningly evocative in their simplicity and economy. I believe that facility enhanced her paintings, as well.
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