Day 14. The Upside Down
A dip into Betty Edward's right-sided brain
“We mostly see what we have learned to expect to see.”
― Betty Edwards
Good morning/afternoon/eve, good grown-ups table people.
As of today you have drawn every day for two solid weeks. I am so happy you’re here, and so happy to be drawing with you. (If you stopped along the way or never started, that matters exactly zero amount. TODAY is the best day to begin. Grab a pencil.)
Yesterday we took a little detour to explore a different kind of seeing and drawing: drawing from the mind’s eye. From what I see in the comments and the discussion in the chat, some of us see vivid mental images in our mind, and some of us (many, in fact) see little, if any pictures. I think it’s important to emphasize that not seeing clear mental images in your mind is NOT a barrier to drawing. (Take it from this artist who falls on the brain-blind side of the spectrum.) Not having mental images in our mind may push us to draw more often from life, or let go of the boundaries of representation altogether. Just as making “mistakes” lead us to our own style, our challenges point us towards our aptitudes.
In any case, with practice, anything is possible. If you want to learn to draw hands accurately, do hundreds of drawings of hands in every different position. Then you’ll be able to draw hands from any angle - if not from your mind’s eye, then from experience. Our mind is just one place we hold our memories. ❤️
No matter where you fall on the mind’s eye spectrum, most artists agree, learning to draw = learning to see. aToday we’re going to take a page from art teacher and pioneer Betty Edwards’ 1979 book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and practice a technique for SEEING.
(Note: Yes, yes, I know there is a lot of debate around the validity of Right Brain/Left Brain drawing theories. I get into it a little in the lesson, you'll see. Just roll with me.)
Betty Edwards and the Upside Down
I remember the first time I saw Betty Edwards’ seminal book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I was in my sophomore year of high school, attending a school where I did not fit in. Students had to play sports six days a week, I had to wear a skirt to class, and everyone had to attend church services three times a week. So yeah. Not my thing. Like many creative kids who felt they didn’t fit in during high school, the art room was my safe haven. I’d go there after class to futz with my ongoing drawing projects, and get a little kindness from the art teacher.
One day in art class, the teacher passed out a xerox copy of a line drawing. It was a flowing, effortless contour drawing of a bespectacled man in a suit. She told us it was by Picasso, and our job was to copy it. I was intimidated. There was no way I could copy a Picasso drawing and not mess it up.
Then she told us we were going to copy it UPSIDE DOWN.
Well, now she was just being mean. Now I was going to be last in THIS sport, too.
Never the less, I flipped the image upside down and began copying from the top down. After five or six nervous, tight lines, something unexpected happened on my paper. Now that the image was upside down, the crossed legs in the portrait ceased being fabric-covered legs I’d never get right, and became a series of short diagonal lines at the top of the page.
I kept drawing.
What was formerly a suit jacket became simply line and shapes. What was a face was now simply a series a marks. I copied them all the best I could. After a few minutes I was surprised to see the image of the bespectacled man had emerged from my pencil. Something magical hadn’t only happened on the paper, but it happened in my brain.
According to Betty Edwards, by turning the drawing upside down, I stopped seeing what my brain thought was there (a complicated image of a man sitting in a chair), and I was able to see the drawing for what it really was: a bunch of marks on a page. With a little effort, I could easily copy that - my brain hadn’t gotten in the way, because it had switched modes. I’d switched from Left brain (L-Brain, as she calls it) that makes sense of everything with language, and we shift over to our Right brain (R-brain) that sees things “as they are.”
Right brain vs Left brain
Betty’s premise is this: the brain has two ways of perceiving and processing reality: Left brain, which is verbal and analytic, and Right Brain, which is visual and perceptual. Betty’s method of teaching drawing focuses suppressing the Left brain, and the encouraging the Right. In doing so, we let go of our analytical understanding of the world and start to see what is really all around us
“The key is always to see the thing-as-it-is inall its unique and marvelous complexity.”
― Betty Edwards
“But Wendy, wasn’t the whole right/left brain thing debunked?”
Great question. Honestly, I’m confused about where neuroscience stands on this today, and look forward to learning more and reporting back. But as I understand it, the concept is back in favor with neuroscientists who study the impact of art on the brain.
Regardless of where science lands on this, millions of people will agree that Betty Edward’s Upside Down drawing WORKS. And while it may not help us find our own vision and voice, it gives us confidence in our abilities and offers us fundamental lessons to help connect our brains, eyes, and hands so we can SEE.
I highly recommend picking up a copy of her book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
I owe so much to Betty for her life’s work. While we’ve never met in person (she’s in her mid-90s now!), my work is in deep conversation with hers. I am forever grateful for her contribution to the field of drawing, and to perception in its many forms.
Note: I have it on good authority that Betty and her family occasionally reads DrawTogether and The Grown-Ups Table time to time, so if you’d like to leave a note of thanks or question for Betty, let’s do that in the comments below.
And now, let’s learn from the master.
Betty Inspired Assignment, in every way
Today’s exercise AND the subject are both homages to Betty.
Betty, this one is for you. Here’s what we’re drawing:
But with a twist. So it’s not really Betty. Sort of.
Alright, ready? She'll get a kick out of this, I hope. Let’s make her smile…