It's the ABILITY to draw that is important to a painter, whether he actually draws his designs on the canvas before he begins to paint his picture, or "draws" with paint as he goes. The ability to draw well is the ability to see well. Artists develop the ability to see beyond the ordinary level of seeing by first learning to draw. There is much more to learn beyond that, as you have pointed out, but that's the most basic level of an artist's education, the first step.
Virgil
