Drawing Blind
Kimon Nicolaïdes's 1941 book The Natural Way to Draw popularized blind contour drawing. There is something magical about blind contour drawings. When you draw without looking, you let go of how something should look, and amazing things can happen. Unintended emphasis on certain areas opens up whole new ways of seeing.
I love how blind drawing evokes whimsy and a bit of rebellion.
When I'm unsure what I want to create next, - blind contour drawings are my go-to.
It's fascinating how our brains work and why some people seem more artistic and others more methodical. A popular theory states that people are either left or right-brained, and one side is more dominant.
"You have two brains: a left and a right. Modern brain scientists now know that your left brain is your verbal and rational brain; it thinks serially and reduces its thoughts to numbers, letters, and words. Your right brain is your nonverbal and intuitive brain; it thinks in patterns or pictures, composed of 'whole things,' and does not comprehend reductions, either numbers, letters, or words."
~ Scientist and neurosurgeon, Richard Bergland
In Betty Edwards's book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Edwards teaches various lessons that challenge you to go beyond your conditioning. For example, one exercise has you draw your subject upside down. Its purpose is to force your left (thinking) brain to stop identifying what you draw and simply draw what it is.
The stone angel above was the first time I tried the exercise in high school. I was shocked by the ease of drawing upside down and by the accuracy of the final result. It's a fun exercise for any age and artistic level. You should try it! Grab a printed image, turn it upside down, and draw it the way you see it.
An internet picture went viral when different people saw different color combinations in the identical shoe. (A dress also went viral for the same reason.) Immediately, it became about the left brain vs. the right brain!
A professor in neurology helped figure out why some see pink and white on a Vans sneaker and others see grey and green.
Check out the sneaker pic at the very bottom of the page. What combo do you see?
Brain-ambidextrous
While one hemisphere of the brain may be more dominant at times, we are all "brain-ambidextrous." Identification with one side as dominant may be more about our need to know where our talents lie. How we identify with brain dominance can help us discover who we are. Check out this video for a simplified explanation of how our brains work.
State of Flow
Brain games aside, blind drawing and exercises like drawing upside highlight how important flow states are in our lives.
Flow states definition:
In positive psychology, a flow state, also called being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the activity's process. The main reason I love making art is how it makes me feel. Immersed in the creative process, I feel a deep sense of well-being.
It's funny. I came out of a deep sleep when I first saw the Vans sneaker picture. It was 100% green and grey, and now I see pink and white. It makes me believe dreaming may be the ultimate flow state.
In these challenging times I hope you find many ways to enjoy and feel the flow!
~ Kim
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