I’ve been steadily working through The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Dr. Betty Edwards. I’ve never taken a professional drawing class and thought I could pick up pointers and good insights into my own art by following the steps in this book. It’s been great. I am watching myself draw — something I never thought I could do.
The process takes you through all the basics. It enables you to get your hands full of charcoal and then turn the black mess into an image. Today I drew my right hand. I sat with one eye closed and spotted out the contours of my hand. Then I filled in the details. Here it is.
So far I have managed to draw a sitting man upside-down. This way his features just look like lines and curves and not actual facial details. It turns out when you copy or draw something that you don’t recognize you can achieve a likeness that is much closer to the original than when you know what you are looking at.
I expect that once I finish going through this book, which is geared for an individual to learn the theories alone or in a group, I will greatly improve the realistic qualities of my quilts.
One last remark; my dad is also working his way through this book. He does marquetry and renders his “quilts” in wood. It’s nice to talk to my dad about the theories and methods developed in this book.
Anyone else have success with the insights revealed by Dr. Betty Edwards? I’d be glad to hear about your experiences.
Cindy
2 Comments
Sharyn
January 31, 2011 at 5:57 pmI worked my way through this book about six years ago, I’ll never forget that upside down man…and I’m a stickman artist normally. Just imagine what we could do given enough time and mentoring?
Sharyn
Cindy
January 31, 2011 at 5:57 pmDid working through the book help your art / drawing experiences? I am hoping at the very least I will come away with the confidence that I can draw. That would be enough. I have done fine up till now. I figured I could only improve if I put in the effort.
Cindy