Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

I read Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain over winter break to try and understand more information about art that I would need for my sustained investigation. The book prefaces the fact that the different hemispheres of the brain do different things for the person. The left side of the brain is the verbal rational part while the right side is nonverbal part which deals with patterns, pictures, and objects that are fully composed. It is incapable of comprehending numbers or words. In the starting chapters of her book, Edwards expands on the importance practice holds withdrawing. She states that reading, walking and driving all requires a considerable amount of practice, and compares these facts to drawing. She goes into detail on the 5 basic skills drawers need to effectively illustrate something. Perception of edges, relationships, lights and shadows, spaces, and the whole. She refers to these basic skills throughout the book, especially when referencing the DRSB method. This method was described as a repetition of the fundamental assumption of the book. She exclaimed that any person with average eyesight and eye-hand coordination could learn how to draw with simply engaging their brain. “To put it another way, you already know how to draw, but old habits of seeing interfere with that ability and block it.” Edwards said this about the DRSB method, which simply furthers the fact she is trying to convey, drawing takes practice. In chapter 5 Edwards inserts numerous drawings of childhood artistry and has the reader analyze the many pieces. She explains what thoughts and decisions are going through children's minds depending on age. The age is the key factor because as children grow older their perception and view of art changes. My favorite part of this chapter was having the ability to replicate drawings I did as a kid. The exercises were very helpful for expanding the five basic skills. It was very important to remember them when doing the exercises. Additionally, I realized that some of the exercises were very helpful for my concentration. For example, in one of the exercises, Edwards asked us to correlate what we know about symbols and shapes. This idea permitted me to put symbols in my artwork. In conclusion, I really enjoyed studying this book. It gave me numerous amounts of insights into the drawing world, some I plan to use over the summer to continually get better at drawing.