Thought I’d draw my friend’s dog again to explore my progression.

Middle sketch is from Dec 2023. Far right is today.

Things that have improved: layout and proportions; fur; shading. Judicious use of eraser. Also speed - I did this today, as opposed to over three days last time.

The drawing course has helped. While the strict set up and some of the structures (using a picture plane, for example) are not my cup of tea, it is still more than useful to try different approaches.

Still working through my drawing course, having taken a bit of a break with a collage I had percolating in my mind.

Yesterday was more copying of old masters’ works. Far left is the original, centre was attempt #1 and right is attempt #2.

Attempt #1, I just approached replicating the work the way I have developed in my current personal drawing technique - starting near the centre and anchoring, and then working outward.

Attempt #2 is using the coursework technique, which I wasn’t gelling with and got bored. All the guidelines, using a picture plane … 🥱 It shows - this is a drawing with almost zero soul. Actually no, it has zero soul.

I need to make sure I am making the most of this course. There is no point continuing if I am not going to at least TRY to learn some new technique.

“Your Negative space drawing of a chair” 

 Okay, I would not recommend someone to try and sit on that chair 😅 

Drawing Exercise #1: Upside Down Drawing

For your first drawing exercises of the semester, I am inspired by the book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards. This book is all about drawing, but largely inspired by neuroscience. (Cool, huh?)

The quote below is from The Fabric of Mind, by the eminent scientist and neurosurgeon, Richard Bergland. Viking Penguin, Inc., New York 1985:

"You have two brains: a left and a right. Modern brain scientists now know that your left brain is your verbal and rational brain; it thinks serially and reduces its thoughts to numbers, letters and words… Your right brain is your nonverbal and intuitive brain; it thinks in patterns, or pictures, composed of ‘whole things,’ and does not comprehend reductions, either numbers, letters, or words." 

Betty Edward’s book about drawing and her work teaching drawing is all about tricking our dominant left brain to allow the right brain to take over because it is not interested in doing the task. One of the famous strategies she came up with to accomplish this is the upside down drawing. 

From the book:

“When an image is upside down, the visual clues don’t match. The message is strange and the brain becomes confused. We see the shapes and the areas of light and shadow, but the image doesn’t call for the immediate naming that we are used to.”

The problem with our brain naming what it sees is that we start to draw  symbols instead of what we see in front of us. Drawing from observation is all about training our eyes to draw what we see, not what we think we should see.

For our first drawing exercise we are going to try this upside down drawing technique!

The image above is a drawing by Picasso of the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. The image is upside down and our task is to copy what we see as closely as we can. It is important that you do not turn the image right side up. 

Step 1: Locate a piece of paper and a pencil. Any paper (printer paper is fine!) will do. This is a drawing exercise.

Step 2: Set aside a minimum of 1 hour to do this drawing. Find a place where you can be alone without being interrupted.

Step 3: Do the drawing in one sitting. Go slow and carefully, from line to line, space to space, working your way through the drawing fitting the parts together as you go. Do you best to avoid naming parts of the drawing (eyes, hands, chair), and instead focus on thinking of what you see in terms of shapes, curves, angles, lines. Some people find it helpful to cover sections of the Picasso drawing up as they go, so they can focus better on doing this. 

Scan, or take a picture of your upside down drawing and post it to your drawing blogs. Please also plan to bring this drawing with you to class on Wednesday.

Images above, from top:

Pablo Picasso “Portrait of Igor Stravinsky” (shown here upside down) 1920.

First exercises from the book “Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain” 4th Edition by Betty Edwards.

Chuck from The Reluctant Poet suggested this book to me as the best way to learn / improve my drawing.

These first 3 drawing exercises the author wanted done before I read any of the instructional information. I was then supposed to put them up and not look at then again until I finished…