A major point Ms. Edwards tries to get across in her book ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’ is that you shouldn’t attempt to draw recognizable shapes and objects. We have in our minds a stylized idea of what a face looks like, what a body looks like. So when we draw a face we base it on what’s in our mind, not what is in front of our eyes and what we draw is distorted by the stylization that lives in our heads.

Instead, we need to draw what we see. We need to ignore what the ‘logical’ side of the brain is telling us and draw what is in front of us. Not a face, but a series of inter-related lines, shapes and values.

One common exercise is to copy an upside down picture. In her workbook Ms. Edwards provides 4 pictures to copy. The one I copied is a Picasso drawing of Igor Stravinsky.

Here is the image as I saw it:

Here is the picture that I drew:

And here is Mr. Picasso’s version right side up.

My guy is a bit fatter, his head longer and he grew an extra finger, but all in all, not bad. It wouldn’t have come out this well if I had drawn it right side up. Then I would have been trying to copy the person. Instead I concentrated almost exclusively on the lines and their relationships with one another.

It really does work.

I finally finished Exercise 3 from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I think more because I left it out on my desk so it was in the way than that I was motivated and driven.

The exercise was to draw a corner of a room. So naturally (and despite the obvious sarcasm) I selected the busiest, most complicated corner I had – my book shelf. It turned out alright. It took 3-4 sittings to get it done. Some sittings I concentrated more than others. But it is done and I can move on.

The new year has begun. I’ve put all of the pieces in place. Now I just need to revolutionize my life, leave behind the last 15 years of bad habits and make something of my life I can be proud of again.

Wish me luck.