Line & Space.

Wow. I never thought that something so simple could have such a profound effect on how I look at things on a day to day basis. I remember after reading the first chapter about line that I paused and took about 10 minutes just studying random lines in my room. I guess what I'm starting to learn is that the elements of art are not necessarily that obscure or difficult. The foundations of art extremely basic, it's all about how you use them. After reading the chapter about space I had a similar effect, but it did take longer to set in. For some reason I have a harder time connecting with the element of space, but I do enjoy works where artist utilize it effectively. For example I loved Matisse, Durer and Rubens, but had a more difficult time understanding Gygli. Also, space is harder for me to see or understand in real life than line. I guess space requires more three dimensional thinking? The easiest way for me to see "space" (or at least the way it would be if painted/drawn etc.), is for me to imagine that I am going to attempt to draw what I am looking at, because everything that I see is usually three dimensional. Linear perspective is another element that requires some creative thinking (or untapped consciousness) for me to see or notice without aid. Examples that I can think of are: looking down a road, looking into a drawer that's fully extended, or looking at the angles of the inside of a building. Contour lines are probably the most difficult for me to see at work in real life. While simple in usage and definition, I can't seem to wrap myself around the fact that the line isn't actually a line, rather something that defines volume? The most apparent representation I've found of this seems to come from glares, and or the line that a glass full of liquid makes?? And yes, my surroundings do actually seem as if they are getting more interesting. The thing is that I get so distracted or am so busy that I don't seem to notice it. But, if I stop for a second and try to think about some basic elements or art (the simplest is line!), then I can start to sit back and recognize things that I did not before.......I guess it's thinking more like an artist who is about to recreate something on a canvas.