From Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain-Drawing Exercise

We had several new viewers to Orbisplanis yesterday. Thanks for taking time to stop by, I appreciate it. So, I will press on. If you're reading this, I'll bet you are not one of those who has any trouble finding activities to fill up your day. That's great-high-five! Your to-do list is as long as your arm. Pretty sure that's the way it's meant to be--time now to do what you want and when. For others of you, perhaps newly retired, who find themselves without a clear direction, here's a gentle nudge. (As for me, it wasn't so gentle; I was told by several "well-wishers" after I retired, "you need to keep yourself busy!") You've come this far, and now's the time when you can take it to the next level. Let your creativity flow. Get with the program, be it art or whatever else is out there for you. Start today. OK!

Seeing is Believing

Last blog left us (breathless I'm sure) with the left brain overpowering the hapless right brain. What to do? Betty Edwards, in her book, (The New) Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, explains what happens. I'm only giving a brief description, of course. She says when you are drawing a picture, you and your brain will experience a shift from L mode to R mode (if you're "doing it right"-my words). When that happens, you may not even be aware of it, which means, bingo!, you're spot on.

Only then, she says, and I quote, "...causes you to see in the special way an artist sees." Can you dig it? My take on this is that you learn to see rather than learn to draw. I read that and kind of/sort of understood it, but Betty really gets her points across in the exercises she provides. The one I like best, she calls the Upside-down Drawing. She takes you through step by step, but basically you turn a drawing, photo or some such (she uses a drawing byPicasso) upside-down and draw it. By doing this, she says, and I'm paraphrasing, you will draw what you actually see rather than what your logical L brain thinks you should see. Sounds simple. There is a whole lot more in the book: helpful exercises, tips, examples , discussions on perspective, light, shadow, color, etc.

You can stay busy with this for quite a while.

In the Studio

Does this sound familiar? You've finished your last painting or whatever, and you're ready for the next creative challenge, right? You're in between doing the actual work, which is, as we all know, the best time. You're looking for that next inspiration. Well, I'm there in my "studio," such as it is. For this, I don't have the solution yet, but maybe we can all figure it out. I'll varnish a few acrylics and oils (if they're dry yet) that I've been putting off while by brain spins around in L or R mode, whichever, until the light bulb turns on. It doesn't usually take very long.

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Cheers!