Upside Down is Better!

Since my last post caused so many "wow's" with you readers, I almost feel like nothing can ever be as good as that post! Wah. But I'm going to keep going anyways.

I have a book from the library, called The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook by Betty Edwards. In her book, she explains about the different sides of the brain. "The left half of the cerebrum: for most right-handed individuals, is where verbal functions are located " "The right half of the cerebrum: for most right-handed individuals, is where visual, spatial, relational functions are located."

I did an exercise in the book called Upside-Down Drawing. In the book was pictured an upside-down horse, drawn by Anonymous and titled Frontal View of a Horse (oh the creative titles...), I was instructed to also draw it upside-down without looking at it right-side up until I was completely finished. That is what is pictured here. I was pretty pleased with it when I flipped it over. The horse is a bit thick-necked but besides that he looks quite handsome dahhling (English accent).

In the remarks after the exercise she says, "It goes against common sense that it is easier to draw something upside down than right side up. When an image is upside down, however, the verbal brain mode is disoriented in its attempt to use visual clues to name and categorize."

News flash: it can be easier to draw things upside down! Even though I took one look at it and knew it was a horse, my brain sort of forgot about that while I was drawing and so I wasn't sitting there thinking 'this doesn't look like a hoof'. Instead, I was focused on copying what was on the page.

In closing, if you are struggling to draw something, I encourage you to try looking at it in a new way - literally. Keep thinking those creative thoughts that will lead to creative actions! And keep reading my blog!