I have been teaching a basic drawing workshop over the past four weeks at the Houston (BC) public library using the concepts taught in Betty Edwards’ book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. In this book, Betty explains that sometimes seeing and talking are two totally different things. As an example of this, try naming out loud the actual colors from the list below without saying the names of the colors.

If you are like most people, you probably had difficulty naming the actual color. The reason for this is because the part of your brain that gives names to colors is different than the part of your brain that perceives colors, and the part of your brain that gives names is usually more dominant.

Anyways, going on the theory that drawing is mostly a right-brained activity, students can more effectively learn how to discern and improve their drawing ability. It has been a fun course, with a good set of students and I have learned a lot.

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