Recently I have removed a part of my life that took up a minimum of 5 hours a day. Finding all this free time has offered a chance to delve back into something I used to love to do when I was young. Drawing. I picked up a book called "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. Its a rather old book but someone online mentioned it awhile back. It had been sitting on my desk for about 3 weeks until I finally opened it on sunday.
  As I started reading I became excited about drawing again. I started right in doing the excercises that Betty mentions. Her ideas that in order to draw you must use the right brain. A perception of the objects you are drawing as if they are lines and curves. Not defining them and naming them by words we know them as today. Below is the first excercise. You were to take a Portrait of Stravinsky that was drawn by Picasso and recreate it by drawing it upside down. The picture in the book is upside down and you draw it upside down on your sheet. This is so you dont know what you are drawing. Your eyes just see the relationships of the lines. Kinda like putting together a puzzle.



I did pretty well at drawing back in the day and havent really picked up a pencil in about 5 years. Id be lying if I didnt tell you I was surprised when I finished and turned the drawing right side up. I was excited at the similarities and differences between mine and the picture in the book. My happiness at my fairly competent drawing led to do another. This one seemed more difficult and took some more time and I often felt myself thinking about how I was drawing a horse which posed a problem in my mind.



When all was said and done I was pretty happy with this one as well. Its not quite as real as the picture but I feel like it has a good character. Considering its only my second drawing back I am ecstatic. Ill probably be doing many more over the coming weeks. I plan on going through the book and all the excercises. Can't wait to spend some more time in the mental state that drawing arouses. Really just a wonderful flowing of energy and a calm mental examination. It is great to experience life from this place.
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