Dr. Betty Edwards’ book, “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain,” teaches people how to become better artists, while also unleashing creativity by encouraging readers to explore and familiarize themselves with the hidden potential in their own brains. So, to further explore the power of viewpoint and perspective, I’d like to make you into an artist.
This is a five to ten-minute exercise. Go get a piece of blank white paper and a pencil.
Now open the image link at the bottom of the page.
Do not try and turn your computer up-side down. Replicate the image you see without looking at objects. Look at the lines, angles, curves, and spaces, paying special attention to the relationships between spaces, angles, and curves, and the distance between lines.
Remember, there are no objects. There are no eyes, there is no nose, and there is no face. You are simply trying to duplicate exactly what you see, not what you think you see.
Start drawing.
Seriously, stop reading this article and go get a piece of paper and something to draw with. Do the exercise before you read anymore. Come on! Give yourself a gift and escape to the right brain, it’s only 10 minutes.
I’ll wait.
When your image is complete, take your paper, turn it right-side up, and look at what you’ve drawn. Is your picture better than you expected?
The first time I did this exercise I was shocked. My drawing was incredible, especially when you consider that stick-men are the foundation of my art career.
The reason that your image probably looks better than the pictures you typically produce is because you changed the context. You changed your view point. Rather than looking at the picture as an object, or as specific elements such as an eye, a nose, or a face, you just tried to reproduce what you actually saw, which enabled you to depict the image in greater detail and accuracy.
This idea of context applies to business and life as well. You’re used to recognizing patterns and themes, but when you identify those patterns and run with them, how much detail are you missing? How much detail are you leaving out because you already have the pattern established in your mind?
Have you ever had someone finish a sentence for you? When someone does that, they are assuming based on patterns and experience that they don’t even need the rest of the information in your thought because they think they already know what you are going to say. Have you ever had someone finish a sentence incorrectly or miss your point altogether because they were so stuck on their own perspective?
When you look at the image from a totally new perspective, you’re not allowing your history, prejudices, or patterns to draw the picture for you.
Apply the same concept to your personal and professional life. Rather than drawing conclusions based on what you already know, look at the issue from a new context or viewpoint and be amazed by what you can discover and create in your own mind.
Mark L. Fox
http://www.davinciandthe40answers.com, http://www.slyasafox.com, info@slyasafox.com,
801-779-0603
Blank & Jones – Lazy Life [Martin Roth Summer Vibe Remix]
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Blank Engraving Foils 8X10 6/Pkg – Silver $3.37 ROYAL LANGNICKEL-Blank Engraving Foils. Create your own fantastic engravings with these blank engraving foil sheets. Simply scratch the blank surface and your design appears. Let your imagination run wild! Each package contains six 10×8in sheets. Tool sold separately. Available in a variety of underlying colors. Recommended for children ages 8 and up. Imported…. |
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Quality 16X22 Artists Canvas Is Pre-Stretched And Triple Coated For The Finest Results (Pkg/6) $39.50 This high-quality 16X22 canvas meets the exacting standards of Winsor & Newton, a respected name in the manufacture of art materials since the early 1800’s. Stretched by hand onto kiln-dried beveled stretcher bars and staple free on the edges for display even without a frame, this 8 ounce cotton duck material will work perfectly with oil, acrylic and alkyd colors. The edges are 13/16″ deep and the… |
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Artist Artistic Arts & Crafts Painter’s Canvas – 6ft. Do It Yourself DIY Plain White Crafter’s Foldable Room Divider $89.00 Almost 6 feet tall and about 3 and a half feet wide when displayed slightly folded to stand upright, solidly crafted for strength durablility, rigidity. Kiln dried Spruce frames, covered front, back, top, bottom and edges with tough, puncture resistant, cotton poly blend canvas. A white space to unleash your creativity in any medium, or, a minimalist practical room divider, hardy, lightweight and … |
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Grosse Pointe Blank: Music From The Film $9.86 Largely the conceit of co-writer/star John Cusack, “Grosse Point Blank” is oft compared to Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” which brings to mind that old adage about apples and oranges. Cusack’s film is, in its own right, the morally bleaker (and funnier) of the two–a shaggy dog tale about a neurotic young hitman returning home for his tenth high school reunion. The first in what appears to be a slew … |
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Grosse Pointe Blank (Volume 2) (1997 Film) $13.98 Largely the conceit of co-writer/star John Cusack, “Grosse Point Blank” is oft compared to Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” which brings to mind that old adage about apples and oranges. Cusack’s film is, in its own right, the morally bleaker (and funnier) of the two–a shaggy dog tale about a neurotic young hitman returning home for his tenth high school reunion. The first in what appears to be a slew … |
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D.I.Y.: The Blank Generation – The New York Scene (1975-78) $11.98 … |
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The Blank Generation [VHS] $14.98 … |
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The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists *** LES BLANK’S NEW NON-FICTION FILM FEATURES CALIFORNIA ARTIST GERALD GAXIOLA – AKA THE MAESTRO – WHO LIVES PASSIONATELY BY HIS CREDO, “ART IS A RELIGION, NOT A BUSINESS.” FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS, THE MAESTRO HAS TOTALLY DEDICATED HIMSELF TO ART FOR ART’S SAKE, PRODUCING AN ASTONISHING ARRAY OF WORK – NONE OF IT FOR SALE. THE FILM INTRODUCES THE AUDIENCE TO THE ARTIST, HIS LIFE AND WORK, AND TAKES … |
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Grosse Pointe Blank / High Fidelity $8.87 No Description Available.Genre: Feature Film-DramaRating: NRRelease Date: 11-SEP-2007Media Type: DVD… |
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Wild Wheels $18.14 … |
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Hampton Art Blank Artist Trading Cards pack of 100 $2.69 Create your own trading cards with these blank, acid-free artist cards. Cards are bright white and measure 2 1/2 in. x 3 1/2 in. |
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Jacquard Blank Silk Scarves 35 in. x 35 in. white silk scarf $9.76 Blank white silk scarves have a smooth, even weave with hemmed edges. Most popular silk for painting, this artist grade fabric adapts well to many fabric painting techniques. |
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Jacquard Blank Silk Scarves 8 in. x 45 in. white silk scarf $3.35 Blank white silk scarves have a smooth, even weave with hemmed edges. Most popular silk for painting, this artist grade fabric adapts well to many fabric painting techniques. |
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Jacquard Blank Silk Scarves 9 in. x 54 in. white silk scarf $3.89 Blank white silk scarves have a smooth, even weave with hemmed edges. Most popular silk for painting, this artist grade fabric adapts well to many fabric painting techniques. |
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Seth Cole Blank Watercolor Postcards 6 in. x 4 in. pad of 15 $4.95 140 lb. Watercolor paper in a 6 in. x 4 in. post card size. Blank on both sides giving the artist more flexibility in being creative. Cold press. 15 cards in tape bound pad. Acid free. |
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Blue Line Art Artist Sketch Cards 2 1/2 in. x 3 1/2 in. 12 cards w/ sleeves $9.26 Illustrate, trade, collect, and sell tiny artworks Artists have traded artist sketch cards amongst themselves for years. With these blank cards, you can create your own collectors’ items and mementos The cards are 2 1/2 in. x 3 1/2 in., the same size as baseball cards. That means they’re compatible with all kinds of card-collecting supplies The cards are printed on Strathmore Smooth Boards. Use paint, pencils, pastels, markers, stickers, glitter, and everything else you can think of to capture a piece of yourself and pass it on Packs include 12 Artist Sketch Cards with protective plastic sleeves. |
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Pacon Easel Pads blank each $13.81 These pads contain high quality white sulphite bond paper, bound with strong resin glue and wire stapled. The pads are available blank, or with 1 in. grid or 1 in. ruled on one side. Each pad has a perforated head strip that is 3-hole punched and an extra heavy chipboard back. Pads measure 27 in. x 34 in. and contain 50 sheets. Pads are recyclable. |
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DK Sketchbook for the Artist Sketchbook for the Artist $28.5 An innovative, practical approach to drawing the world around you. Covering a wide range of themes from portraits to plant studies and still life, and showing how to tackle each subject in a variety of different ways, this book aims to widen the reader’s understanding of drawing and to inspire them to pick up a pencil and draw. Alongside drawings by famous artists, the book uses the author’s own sketch book as a way to examine attitudes and demonstrate specific techniques. Hardcover book with jacket measures 9 in. x 10 in., 264 pages. DK, 2005. ISBN 0756608163 |
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Masterson Artist Palette Seal $13.39 Save paint, time and money using the Artist Palette Seal. This airtight container safely holds any type of paint palette between sessions. (Paint palette not included.) Dimensions are 16 in. x 12 in. x 1 3/4 in. |
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Barron’s The Oil Artist’s Handbook The Oil Artist’s Handbook $16.1 Here’s a brand new series for dedicated amateurs that will also by used and valued by professional artists. Each title in the Artist’s Handbook Series has a sturdy hardcover binding, allowing it to be taken out to the field as handily as it is used in the studio. The books hidden spiral bindings keep pages lying flat, so students can work freely with their art materials without having to fight with their instruction manual. Each title supplements textual instruction with more than 400 color illustrations showing paintings in various stages of completion. There is also detailed information on artists’ tools, techniques, mixing colors, creating special effects, and trouble-shooting to correct errors. All three Artist’s Handbooks show examples of works by famous artists in the respective media to help students see how each medium has been used by world-renowned masters. A favored medium of artists down through the centuries, oil painting allows a nearly infinite range of expression for the artist. Here is instruction in all aspects of oil painting, starting with stretching and sizing the canvas, to color mixing, brushwork, use of the palette knife, composing a picture, and taking it to completion. Hardcover book with hidden spiral binding measures 6 1/2 in. x 8 in., 224 pages. Barron’s. ISBN 0764156209 |
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DK The Artist’s Handbook The Artist’s Handbook ISBN: 9780756626211 $20.41 The Artist’s Handbook is designed to instruct, inspire, and broaden the skills of anyone interested in all aspects of art, from drawing, painting, and printmaking to digital media and applied techniques. The book contains step-by-step projects, conservation and framing information, and glowing reproductions of the great masters. Author: Ray Smith Format: paperback, 384 pgs., 7 in. x 10 in. Publisher: DK, 2003 |
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Artist Tilt Table Artist Tilt Table Unit $126.42 Work on your art from every angle. The Artists’ Tilt Table(tm) is a revolutionary new tool that will change the way you sculpt. This valuable tool simply attaches to any work stand or table with ordinary C-clamps (not included). Tilt Table allows you to turn your sculpture 360 degrees and lock in any position. The top plate attaches with three screws. This top plate gives you the ability to attach whichever armature you prefer directly to the top plate. Also good for painting models and other 3-D objects. The Tilt Table is designed to hold up to approximately 20 pounds in the 90 degree tilt position. The Tops are made Woodstalk Wheat Straw Based Fiberboard. The tilt and rotate mechanism is made with poly filled fiber and works with steel tubing. Artist Tilt Table comes with one table top. Purchase with additional table tops for working on multiple sculptures. Purchase of Artist Tilt Table Unit with four additional table tops also includes two 3 in. C-clamps. |
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Barron’s The Watercolor Artist’s Handbook The Watercolor Artist’s Handbook $16.27 Here’s a brand new series for dedicated amateurs that will also by used and valued by professional artists. Each title in the Artist’s Handbook Series has a sturdy hardcover binding, allowing it to be taken out to the field as handily as it is used in the studio. The books’ hidden spiral bindings keep pages lying flat, so students can work freely with their art materials without having to fight with their instruction manual. Each title supplements textual instruction with more than 400 color illustrations showing paintings in various stages of completion. There is also detailed information on artists’ tools, techniques, mixing colors, creating special effects, and trouble-shooting to correct errors. All three Artist’s Handbooks show examples of works by famous artists in the respective media to help students see how each medium has been used by world-renowned masters. This fundamental guide to creating beautiful watercolor paintings includes practical advice and features demonstrations of both traditional and experimental methods. Students learn techniques that make the most of the translucent quality of watercolor pigments and discover ways to achieve a variety of effects that include creating convincing cloud formations, foliage, sunlight, and mist. Hardcover book with hidden spiral binding measures 6 1/2 in. x 8 in., 224 pages. Barron’s. ISBN 0764156195 |
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Strathmore Blank Watercolor Postcards pad of 15 $3.45 Made specifically to hold up to any wet media including watercolor, acrylic, or gouache. These high quality post cards are made from 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper. Each pad contains 15 – 4 in. x 6 in. post cards. Front side of the card is blank. Click on camera icon below to see picture of back side. Acid free. |
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Pacon Easel Pads blank box of 4 $55.26 These pads contain high quality white sulphite bond paper, bound with strong resin glue and wire stapled. The pads are available blank, or with 1 in. grid or 1 in. ruled on one side. Each pad has a perforated head strip that is 3-hole punched and an extra heavy chipboard back. Pads measure 27 in. x 34 in. and contain 50 sheets. Pads are recyclable. |
