“Most people never learn to see well enough to draw,” according to Betty Edwards, author of Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain. And since painting requires the same perceptual skills as drawing, if you struggle with drawing, you’ll undoubtedly have similar troubles with painting. But you say, you have no interest in drawing? What can you do if you just want to get to the fun of your painting? Hmmm, I have a comment.
PRACTICE A SKILL TO IMPROVE YOUR PAINTING.
Why avoid picking up skills that would boost your painting ability? If you’re serious about learning to paint well, let me suggest you read Betty Edwards’s Drawing On The Right Side of The Brain and make a serious effort to do the exercises that she suggests in the book. Learn and practice drawing! It’s more interesting than you think. Plus, drawing and painting are intimately connected, and as painter Ian Roberts says, “The quickest way to improve your paintings is to learn to draw.”
In her book, Edwards states that drawing is a skill that anyone who can read or write can learn fairly quickly. Her instruction and exercises are designed “for people who cannot draw at all, who feel that they have little or no talent for drawing, and who may feel doubtful that they could ever learn but who think they might like to learn to draw” (pp. 3-4).
WHAT I LEARNED.
I read Edwards’s book recently and was amazed at how much I learned. While I was aware that the tendency of artists to “name” the things they paint gets them into trouble when they try to “see” accurately, I wasn’t sure why or what specifically to do to stop “painting what you think you see.” After reading Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, now I know what to do!
Hemispheres, page 29, Drawing On The Right Side On The Brain, 2012 Edition.
TWO BRAIN HEMISPHERES. TWO MODES OF THINKING.
Scientists have found that the human brain is constructed of two hemispheres, a right side and a left side. Each hemisphere, amazingly, has separate and somewhat different functions and capabilities. Research shows that both hemispheres are involved in high-level thinking, although each side is specialized for a different MODE of thinking.
Study of brain injury has found that the language and language-related capabilities are mainly located in the brain’s LEFT hemisphere for most people. Edwards calls left-brain functions “L-mode.” L-mode ways of thinking are verbal, rational, linear, objective, analytic.
In contrast, a second way of knowing is governed by the RIGHT hemisphere of the brain, “R-mode” thinking. In this mode, Edwards says “we can ‘see’ things in the mind’s eye,” thus seeing the big picture. R-mode thinking is intuitive, holistic, imaginative, nonlinear, non-verbal. “Using the right hemisphere we use metaphors and image solutions, and create new combinations of ideas and novel ways to approach problems” (pp. 36-37).
At times each hemisphere may share tasks with the other, with each half taking over whatever parts are suited to its style. However, one hemisphere can also take over and inhibit the other. Research suggests that the two halves can be at cross purposes, with one half insisting on taking over a task it thinks it can do “better” than the other half. The LEFT hemisphere, apparently, prefers NOT to give up tasks to the right hemisphere UNLESS it doesn’t like the task.
Illusion, page 46, Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, 2012 Edition.
RIGHT HEMISPHERE USE IMPROVES PAINTING.
Perceptual, painting, and drawing skills largely depend on RIGHT hemisphere function, so unless you can shift your thinking style to R-mode, you tend to gloss over visual information, see what you expect to see, and fail to observe or paint accurately what is before you. (This is why your painted “tree” may not look like a real tree: your verbal, language-based, left hemisphere brain is hindering your art. Your left-brain will actually CHANGE incoming visual information to fit its preconceptions without telling you. You will find that you CANNOT depend on what you THINK you’re seeing.)
HOW TO SHIFT MODES AND LEARN TO SEE?
Shifting modes of thinking is not automatic. There are ways, however, you can learn to shift your thinking from a left hemisphere, verbal emphasis to a right hemisphere, visual mode that will improve your art. In Drawing On The Right Side of The Brain, Betty Edwards will show you how to do just that. She teaches several techniques to help you shift your mode of thinking and learn to SEE.
Throughout Edwards’s book, you’ll learn the five simple perceptual (seeing) skills necessary for drawing (and painting), including:
* Perceiving Edges (where one ends, another begins),
* Perceiving Spaces (what lies beside and beyond),
* Perceiving Relationships (perspective and proportion),
* Perceiving Light and Shadow (lights and darks),
* Perceiving the Gestalt (seeing the whole and its parts).
You’ll also learn skills invaluable to accurate perception, creative thinking, and problem-solving. Being able to access the right hemisphere of your brain more easily will allow you to know yourself better, to access your intuition better, and to achieve “flow” in creative activity more easily ( where you lose track of time, your activity becomes intensely interesting, and you’re “in the zone”). Further, you may become better acquainted with your “self” — how you see and feel about things — so that you can make that awareness more visible in your paintings.
Size misperception, page 172, Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, 2012 Edition.
IN SUMMARY.
Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain by Betty Edwards is an excellent and valuable resource because it gives clear, practical advice for techniques you can practice to see better and improve your art. Borrow a copy from your local library, or buy the book from a nearby local bookstore, or online.
I must confess that I have owned Edwards’s book for many years but never read it until very recently because I assumed it was simply a how-to-draw book. I wasn’t fully aware that the same skills that apply to drawing also apply to other creative work; that connection just wasn’t clear to me, although it makes perfect sense. Now it is clear, thanks to this stimulating book. I wish Edwards had chosen a different title because the book opens perceptual doorways in many directions and is about much more than just drawing.
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Many beginning painters believe that to produce a good painting, all they need is mastery of technique. However, it takes more than finely executed techniques to achieve an artistic result. Artists need to OBSERVE CLOSELY what they intend to paint. When you’re an artist, seeing isn’t simple.
Most of the time, we look at things with only part of our attention. We see only what we expect to see. We assign a verbal label to many images. For instance, if what we are looking at is a “tree,” we may not look closely at what is really there. We think we know what a tree looks like, because we’ve seen so many. This habit of not paying close attention saves time and keeps us moving along in our busy lives BUT prevents us from actually LOOKING at things. In the everyday world, we quickly categorize in words and move on.
However, to paint or draw successfully, artists need to slow down so they can examine and study the shapes and values that make up an observed scene. Artists try to avoid a verbal label for an object they may paint (such as as “tree,” “box,” “barn,” or “shoe”). Instead they train themselves to interpret what they see in a new, nonverbal way. SEEING means focusing attention, looking at form – shapes, values, and colors – before beginning to paint. Where is the light hitting the tree branches? Can you see through the branches? What is the overall shape of the tree? Are branches straight, upturned, crooked, rough? Is the tree lopsided or symmetrical? Are the highlights a different color from the shadows? What is the weather, and how does it affect the appearance of the vegetation? By asking such questions and looking carefully, you can start to accurately paint what you SEE, NOT what you THINK you see.
“End Of The Day” Watercolor Painting.
Learning to draw helps you see, and being able to see will help you draw. The perceptual skills and mental processes necessary for drawing are the same as those used when painting with a brush. In fact, artist Ian Roberts maintains that “The quickest way to improve your painting is to learn to draw.” Drawing trains the mind, hand, and eye to work together, without the distraction of color. Further, drawing shapes and values helps you notice and decide what information you will need in order to actually paint your image. If you can’t see important shapes and values, you won’t be able to draw or paint well.
Many beginning artists avoid drawing altogether if they can, feeling that their drawing skills are not good. (And they also may want to start painting right away, thinking that drawing is a distraction from the fun of painting.) However, you should not feel obliged to render precise drawings of what you wish to paint! Do not let your concerns about drawing technique prevent you from trying to draw what is before you!
One of the main purposes of drawing is to TRAIN yourself to see shapes and spaces more accurately – to “see” like an artist and take note of important details. By keeping your drawing SIMPLE, just getting something down relatively quickly, you can allow yourself to SEE. Look for BASIC SHAPES, and notice how they are connected. Find larger shapes first; then fit smaller shapes into them. More specifically, see the image as a whole; then concentrate on individual components. That is, move from general information to the more specific. Distracting details are only decoration on the surface of these shapes, like frosting on a cake.
“Winter Is Coming” Watercolor Painting.
Concentrate; work slowly and intently. Give yourself the time to observe and take in information before rushing to produce a finished image. Ultimately, you should be able to perceive everything you see as totally abstract forms, values, lines, and color, as in a jigsaw puzzle. Remember that shadows are shapes! Reflections are shapes as well. Backgrounds have shape and should act as frames for the subject of a painting. Only when you can “see” in this way will you begin to be able to create the appearance of three-dimensional reality on your flat, two-dimensional paper.
Frederick Franck, artist and philosopher, says in The Zen of Seeing/Drawing: “I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle . . . .” So do not hesitate to sketch and draw what you intend to paint. (Or even make a small sketch daily, drawing everyday things or imaginary scenes that might be totally unrelated to anything you want to paint.) As you draw, you will notice important details and sharpen the mind/hand/eye coordination necessary to improve your painting skills. Drawing is not something you can or cannot do; it is a skill that requires practice and time, just like any other ability (including painting). What matters is not the quality of each finished drawing, but the continued practice of close observation.
“Flowing Forward” Watercolor Painting
Another benefit of drawing and sketching, in addition to developing necessary observational and perceptual skills, is that you will automatically begin to condense observed information into a more SIMPLIFIED FORMAT, and this ability will come through in your painting. With a drawing you are more likely to end up with your focal point being prominent, because you concentrate mainly on that particular feature. Your drawing will be simpler, easier on the eye of the viewer, as you collect only the information that counts and leave out extraneous material.
Strive to “see” the world in terms of shape, pattern, color, line, and texture. Having observed carefully, take your time, and use the information to record what you see as skillfully as you can. As you go about your daily life, you may be surprised that you begin to see details that you never noticed before, that you look at the world around you differently. Mastering these skills will undoubtedly improve the quality of your painting. Your personal viewpoint or individual perception of the world will become more and more apparent as you interpret what you “see” and choose what to record and include in your drawing or painting.
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Anyone with desire and focus, can learn to paint with watercolors. The process, however, can take a very long time, even years, and true artists never stop learning (nor do they want to). But let’s assume that you have learned what materials you need and the fundamental techniques you need to use those materials. What comes next? When I began to paint in 2008, I didn’t know. I don’t think I even knew that I was considering such a question. What was important to me at the time was improving! I wanted to get more proficient. In this post, I intend to share some of the steps I’ve taken in my process of learning watercolor, a few questions I’ve asked myself, and several concerns I’ve had along the way.
Red Bumpers Watercolor Painting.
STAGE II. COPYING & CLOSE OBSERVATION.
Beyond the elementary techniques, I found that what I wanted was to portray my reference images as accurately as possible. I quickly learned that close observation was required. But as an artist, I found ‘seeing’ isn’t simple.
Most of the time, we look at things with only part of our attention. We see only what we expect to see, often assigning a label to every image. For instance, if what we are looking at is a ‘tree,’ we may not explore carefully what is really there. This habit of not paying close attention keeps us from actually LOOKING at things. In the everyday world, we quickly categorize and move on, perhaps in part because there seems to be so much information.
When I started painting, I would choose an image to paint, and the first thing I’d notice was a lot of detail. I was distracted by details, as perhaps you are, too. What do you do with all that detail? How do you know which details are important? Those questions overwhelmed me. I had been told to ‘look carefully’ at a reference, but the more I looked, the more confusing detail I saw. Over time, however, I began to believe that the trick had to be focusing on something else, not trying to capture every tiny detail. Focusing on small details, like individual leaves, or trying to include every tree trunk or grass blade in a painting, didn’t work well.
Thus, to paint more successfully, I forced myself to slow down. I tried NOT to look at small details first, but instead to examine and study the shapes, values, and colors that made up the larger framework of each scene. ‘Seeing’ does mean focusing attention, looking closely, but especially at the arrangement of shapes. For example, where is the light hitting the tree branches? Can you see through the branches? What is the overall shape of the tree? Are branches straight, upturned, crooked, rough? Is the tree lopsided or symmetrical? Are the highlights a different color from the shadows? What is the weather, and how does it affect the appearance of the ‘tree’? By asking such questions and looking carefully, I began to more accurately paint what I SAW, NOT what I THOUGHT I saw.
As I became more familiar with and practiced at painting, I began to see more subtle color, more nuanced detail, more understated tones. It seems that ‘seeing’ cannot be forced and may only develop gradually over time, with experience, and when one is ready. With practice, however, we can expect to notice more and sooner, perhaps even noting details that others miss or take for granted.
Forsythia In Vases Watercolor Painting.
DRAWING HELPS YOU OBSERVE CAREFULLY.
Drawing trains the mind, hand, and eye to work together. Many beginning artists may avoid drawing altogether if they can, feeling that their drawing skills are not good. However, you should not feel obliged to render precise drawings of what you wish to paint. Do not let your concerns about drawing ability or drawing technique deter you. I found that even sketching a quick, rough thumbnail required me to consider what was important in a scene. One of the main purposes of drawing is to TRAIN yourself to see shapes and spaces more accurately – to ‘see’ like an artist and keep the big picture in mind. By keeping details to a minimum, just getting some information down without stressing, you can help yourself to see.
More specifically, you should look for basic SHAPES and notice how they are connected. Find larger shapes first; then fit smaller shapes into them. See the image as a whole; and only then concentrate on individual components. Distracting details are only decoration on the surface of these shapes. Squinting your eyes often helps you to see beyond any unnecessary detail. Concentrate; work slowly and intently. Give yourself the time to observe and take in information before rushing to produce an image. Ultimately, the goal is to be able to perceive what you see as totally abstract forms, values, lines, and color, as in a jigsaw puzzle. You must shift your perspective. Remember that shadows are shapes, as are reflections. Backgrounds have shape and should act as frames for the subject of a painting. Only when you can ‘see’ in this way will you begin to be able to suggest three-dimensional reality on your flat, two-dimensional paper.
Frederick Franck, artist and philosopher, says in The Zen of Seeing/Drawing: “I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle . . . .” So do not hesitate to sketch and draw what you intend to paint. As you draw, you will notice which details are important and sharpen the mind/hand/eye coordination necessary to improve your painting skills. Drawing is a skill that requires practice and time, just like any other ability (including learning the techniques of painting). The skills and mental processes necessary for drawing are the same as those you use when painting with a brush.
White Primroses Watercolor Painting.
STAGE III. BEGIN TO DESIGN, PLAN, & SIMPLIFY.
When I began to feel more confident reproducing an image before me, I sometimes found myself wishing I could improve a composition; the reference pictures I found weren’t quite satisfying. Occasionally I wanted to combine two photos instead of having to copy one. In other instances, I wondered if some of the components in a picture might be better relocated to another section of the picture, even left out. A tree or a building might have been blocking what I thought was the most interesting section of the picture.
At this point, I also began to take some of my own reference photos, to create a view I desired. I essentially inched my way toward DESIGNING my paintings, seeing what was in front of me but arranging and modifying the information to actually improve the picture, making it something I liked better and felt was more effective.
Eventually it dawned on me that this desire to improve a reference might be the start to a new stage in painting for me. To improve a painting, I could forget about ‘reproducing’ nature. I could start to REARRANGE it! I could take what I liked and ignore what I didn’t want to include. Definite rules about design and composition existed and could greatly improve a painting. I wanted to learn them.
Mastering Composition by Ian Roberts is a comprehensive guide and excellent resource that can help you learn more about composition.
I found that this designing and PLANNING need to be done BEFORE any paint is put on the paper. Again, you will need to study your subject for a while. Think about what it is that attracted you – that should be the primary statement or BIG IDEA in your painting. Consider what you will emphasize in the picture. Eliminate anything that might compete with or distract from the ONE focal point and main idea. You shouldn’t try to include every daunting detail in a scene. Instead, it pays to NARROW your vision (even to crop an image) and SIMPLIFY your subject.
Ask yourself what your focal point is. What will your painting be about? Is there a lead-in to invite the viewer into the picture? Think about what you want to say before you start. WHAT do you hope to achieve, and HOW are you going to achieve it? Establish some clear objectives.
While drawing or sketching develops necessary observational skills as mentioned previously, drawing also helps you to plan and condense information into a simplified format. This clarification will strengthen the message of your final painting. With a drawing you are more likely to end up with your focal point being prominent, because you concentrate mainly on that particular feature. Your drawing will be streamlined, easier on the eye of the viewer, because you collect only the information that counts and leave out extraneous material. Thus, drawing trains the brain to think about and analyze what is essential to the picture.
High Jinks Watercolor Painting.
IV. EXPRESS FEELINGS & EMOTIONS.
A later stage in improving my painting skills grew out of the wish to have my feelings and emotions come across in each painting. When establishing the IDEA for a painting now, I try to think about how I feel. We all interpret a scene in our own way – WHAT you want to emphasize and WHY will probably differ from what interests me or another person. That is to be expected – we all have different experiences, reactions, thoughts, and feelings that affect our impression of our world. These factors will affect our chosen focal point, our ‘big idea’ for a painting, even the style in which we paint it. (Our own particular concerns and perception directly determine the painting style we choose.)
In other words, I try to consider MOOD when planning my painting approach to a picture, and then work to express it. It seems easier for me to achieve some success at this in some paintings than in others. I contemplate how the scene makes me feel. Happy, sad, excited, nostalgic? I strive to determine what it is I want to show and what the meaning of each topic is to me. Why did I choose to paint this picture? Why was I drawn to this image? Does the scene remind me of a favorite place? Does the picture make me feel calm? Do I feel like laughing when I look at or think about this subject?
I believe great artists are able to paint their feelings about a scene, as well as an impression of its actual appearance. (Think about Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, for instance, or Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring.) They make sure they don’t copy the details so faithfully and precisely that there is no room left for life, mystery, or emotion in a painting. Instead, such artists paint their interpretation and memories, share what they feel are the significant factors behind what may be a commonplace scene, attempt to translate emotions aroused in their hearts. They often reveal their skill at rearrangement and invention in the scene.
T’s Fall Road Watercolor Painting.
Emotion can be conveyed in a painting in a number of ways. The mood of a painting can be created or altered by hard, soft, or lost edges; light and dark values (contrast, high key, or low key); line and arrangement of masses (lyrical, angular, curved, open, closed-in, a preponderance of verticals or horizontals); light (overcast, ominous or threatening, nighttime, bright and sunny, glaring, or late afternoon); and color choice and color proportion (warm, neutral, cold, cheery, drab, soothing, jarring, or balanced). For more in depth information on emotion and mood in painting, see “Get In The Mood!”, (9/4/2018), https://leemuirhaman.com/2018/09/04/get-in-the-mood/ .
Choosing and combining so many variables appropriately and successfully to express your emotion takes experimentation and practice, yet is the ultimate goal in art.
Take note of and respond to your own emotions – these feelings are what you will try to get down on paper and share with viewers of your art. Think with your heart. People will connect to YOUR art with THEIR emotions!
V. BECOME YOUR OWN TEACHER.
After painting for ten years, I lost my beloved mentor and watercolor teacher, who died in 2018. Before he died, he asked me to take over the teaching of his watercolor classes. While I didn’t feel at all ready for that, I really didn’t want to let him down. For that reason, I started teaching others what he had taught me. However, I couldn’t help feeling that there was still more for me to learn. If I had questions, though, who could I ask? My solution was to study art books, seek information online, and continue taking occasional workshops in person and courses online.
I also began writing blog posts (in 2018) to share with others the information I was learning about watercolor. I studied and wrote about things I was struggling with, or topics I found especially interesting. In order to write about a subject, I had to consolidate, understand, and make sense of it for myself. Writing has helped me know my own thoughts.
I think we can all work towards becoming our own best teacher. Always keep learning on your own and for yourself. I’m not suggesting you avoid taking classes or working with watercolor instructors you enjoy and are learning from. Instead, I’m asking you to treat yourself as a good teacher would, by being supportive of yourself, allowing yourself to investigate and learn more about the art topics that you might be struggling with, and searching out information about your art interests. (One of my recent investigative searches has been about how to paint light, create the glow of light in watercolor.) I hope that you take an active part in your own art education.
For me, I want to continue to write and to paint with watercolor. I hope to freshen up my website, perhaps even adding an option to purchase directly from the site. I would like to improve my skills at designing my own pictures more creatively, and to spend more time painting my own compositions. I will also, of course, persist in studying, learning, and researching what intrigues me about watercolor.
What’s next for you?
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What do you think about this quote by Martha Beck who has said, “An artist’s real contribution isn’t what he paints, but the way he sees.”? Let me know in a comment below.
If you are painting outdoors or attempting to paint a still life in front of you, how would you go about drawing realistically with just a pencil and paper? How could you transfer what you see to your painting surface? How can you judge proportion and perspective without error?
To make a drawing look right, we must understand that all parts of a scene (or landscape) are LOCKED into a proportional relationship which doesn’t change. When drawing, your job is to observe carefully what the relationship is and reproduce it accurately. You don’t want to guess what the proportions MIGHT BE or assume whatthey SHOULD BE. Instead you want to replicate what the proportions actually ARE.
However, using just a pencil and paper for drawing is even simpler and faster! The pencil you draw with becomes the tool for comparing and SIGHTING how shapes relate to each other. You take your sighting by holding out the pencil AT ARM’S LENGTH. (Your arm is locked straight out from the body.) You look down your arm and slide your thumb to measure the approximate length of an object. (Your thumb is a SLIDING MEASURING GAUGE.)
In this way, you measure first one portion of a scene or object, while you extend the arm holding the pencil. Hold your thumb steady on the pencil to mark the measure, move your pencil while keeping your thumb in place, and compare the first measurement to the size of a second portion of the scene or object. For example, to find the relationship (RATIO) of the top width of a chair to the height of the chair, place your thumb on the pencil to mark and hold the width. Turn your pencil without moving your thumb, to compare the height to the first width measurement. (If width measures ‘one’, height might be ‘1.5’. In this case, the height of the chair is 1.5 times width of the chair.) You could then easily use this information to create a drawing of the chair.
Continue to measure and compare other areas within your scene to the first measurement in order to figure relative sizes and relationships throughout the picture. Angles can be determined using this method as well.
Once SIGHTING with a pencil is learned , it quickly becomes an effective way to check size, distance, and angles in a drawing. You can scale an image up or down in size while maintaining proper proportions. The technique will become automatic and indispensable as you gather information and look carefully at your scene. The more you look into your subject, the more you will see!
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For a quick video explanation of sighting with a pencil, watch this YouTube by Chris Triner, Drawing With Simple Sighting Technique, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otv_l_qkML4
Lee Muir-Haman Watercolor Painting 