Comments on: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Betty Edwards)

By: Vases ~ Faces « Neurons Firing

Vases ~ Faces « Neurons Firing — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:08:17 +0000

[...] artist Charley Parker’s blog, lines and colors, he has an article about Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, which describes the class process quite accurately. I know first hand, having been a student in [...]

By: Charley Parker

Charley Parker — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:18:28 +0000

Sin,

Thanks for the comment.

Obviously I disagree and feel that it is a very worthwhile book. I agree, though, that it doesn’t do much to teach drawing in the sense of old master finesse. I point that out in my article (though she is adding a bit of that in recent editions). This is why I suggest supplementing it with a book like Mendelowitz’ Guide To Drawing.

What she does teach about drawing, and possibly better than anyone else, is the seeing component of seeing/drawing, which is the part the most people who do not consider themselves artists have the most trouble with.

I also think it is the most basc component of drawing, and the other component, finesse with line, form, tone, rendering, the use of the tools, etc., is what transforms drawing into art.

Drawing is a basic communication skill available to all human beings at some level.

The most apt analogy is with writing. Most of us can write to some extent, but not many of us are “writers” in the artistic sense. Most people in our culture, however, lack even the basic skills for drawing, and this is where her approach excels.

I also find, however, that even experienced artists benefit from following her course of excercies and developing an understanding of the principles she teaches. Many other drawing books teach these as well (see my post on Dobson’s Keys to Drawing), but I think her approach is best for “non-artists” in learning the basics.

By: Sin

Sin — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:43:50 +0000

This is a terrible book. I can’t believe some schools actually teach from it. It doesn’t teach drawing or conveying form at all. It teaches copying a work in a clinical way that teaches them basically nothing.

By: erin

erin — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:07:54 +0000

i like drawin but i dont love drawin all the time but drawin is still cool!! well g2g bye bye

By: Laurie

Laurie — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:54:44 +0000

Hi Charley,
I stumbled upon your enlightening blog while doing a search for “how the brain understands drawing”. I quite enjoyed this post and exploring your site.

Just wanted to chime in that after reading the book many years ago, in the summer of 2005 I finally was a student in Brian Bomeisler’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in Soho, NY. So enabling was the process, that it changed my mindset and fed my creative juices. Just this past February I joined Brain at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for one of his Saturday skteching sessions and it took my visual eye and drawing aptitude leaps further. Brian offers his workshops in many US locations as well as in England. I encourage folks to take his sessions; they will find them most revealing.

Regards,
Laurie
p.s. My article isn’t posted yet, but it contains a link to your blog.

By: Ursula

Ursula — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 01:54:32 +0000

i have drawn all my life. if you check out my website, you can see samples of my artwork, and i feel that i am fairly well-accomplished in the drawing area. like you, though, i have always felt that it is something that you CAN learn. after all, i wasn’t always so good. yes, i was often more skilled than my peers, but it took a lot of practice and training of my eye in order for my work to improve. i think that proves that it IS a learning process. yes, some people are born naturally able to percieve things more accurately, but i don’t believe that closes off the possibility of ANYone being able to draw. if they truly want to, and have a good instructor, i believe anyone can be taught to SEE, as Betty Edward’s book shows. i was first shown this book when i was about 10, and to this day, i still use some of the exercises and tricks in it if i am having a particlarly hard time on a certain piece. her methods work. i currently have an 11 year-old student, and i’m using her workbook to teach him. and while his progress is not quite as fast as Betty’s students (he only comes once a week), i could see almost immediate improvement. anyone who wants to draw doesn’t need to take expensive classes or hire a tutor - just buy this book.

By: Arun Verma’s Blog » Think You Have No Talent?

Arun Verma’s Blog » Think You Have No Talent? — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 14:06:22 +0000

[...] If you think that you have no talent at all and are creatively challanged, read this post by Charley Parker. Charley reviews a must read book by Betty Edwards - Drawing on the right side of the brain. [...]

By: Renata Lourenço

Renata Lourenço — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 19:59:16 +0000

During all my life I have been wondering about that kind of differences between people. Since my childhood I realise that doing nice draws was an easy work and I remember that this was not true to all the kids in school. The same used to happen in maths, but in reverse, and my bad memories keep’s me remembering that I used to be inside finishing my math problems while most of the kids were playing outside…
After that I started myself in musics, and realised that some people learned the same things that I do but in a very faster way… and that is not all, they were faster learners and they turned faster in best players.
all my life I were wondering about this natural differences and I realised that we are not equal people, I realise that each one of us understands and interacts with reality around in different ways.
my experience with drawing showed me this conclusion: there are two types of people , the ones who make terrible draws, and the ones who draw it good… the first ones don’t seem to have a general overview of the wole thing they are trying to dry , starting with little things, and finishing the little things like a people eye in a big crowd wile the second ones get a general overview of the relations between all the things in the picture, getting the job finished by phases, first the crowed then the bodys, then the heads, then the faces…
Well my last conclusion I discovered this right day. It is that my all life problem with numbers and changing numbers in sequences is kind of natural for my bad left side prossessment…marking prices, making changes, working with credit cards for me is a terrible thing… I am always changing the sequences…453, is equal to 435; 291 is equal to 219…
My boss used to get furious with me! haha…
I have to learn how to get this side better

By: Charley Parker

Charley Parker — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 02:35:05 +0000

Thanks, Daniel. I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog and I appreciate your comments.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:18:18 +0000

Thanks for reading my comment. Yes, unfortunately it seems that those mosconceptions exist everywhere. Now I can understand that. That´s why, sincerely, I enjoyed so much this blog. It is “simply” about drawing, painting, ilustration, etc..without mosconceptions. You´ve gain a frequent visitor =)
good luck