Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a proven technique for teaching drawin

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: What People Say

It can be hard to know if any technique or method is going to be right for you. The 5-day intensive Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain devised by Betty Edwards is exactly what it says: it's intensive and you'll spend five days learning to draw for 7 hours a day.

Demanding? Yes!

Hard work? Yes!

Rewarding? Definitely!

Remember too - it's suitable for anyone - even if you think you are someone who could never learn to draw.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF IT'S RIGHT FOR YOU?

There is no denying it's a big commitment in terms of time and money - the best things often are. However, rather than read about how wonderful I think Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is (which I do!), I'd rather you heard about it from others.

Below are:

Radio interview from Studio 360 about left/right brain research

Press articles from American Artist about the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain method, which casts light on what goes on in class and shows some student drawings

New York Times article about the importance of developing the right brain in our information-overloaded world and how Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is being taught to in the corporate world.

First hand accounts and examples of what people who have experienced the course for themselves have learned.

I hope that this information might help you decide if you're ready to commit your time and money to learn something that could bring an enormous amount of pleasure and boost your artistic confidence.

The articles below refer to courses taught by Brian Bomeisler, who trained me. This is the identical course (developed by Betty Edwards and Brian) which I am offering in the UK, under license from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Inc.

You can read comments by students taught by me here

The Tale of Two Brains

From Studio 360:
The Tale of Two Brains (Produced by Dave Johns)
Right-brained people are supposed to be artistic and spontaneous, while left-brainers are literal and analytical; in other words, Captain Kirk and Spock. This ubiquitous bit of pop science wisdom came out of Nobel Prize-winning neurology, and it spawned the bestseller Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. But does the story of the two brains stand up in the age of the MRI?

Listen here and find out for yourself (Note: A new window will open and you will need to scroll down the page to see the relevant interview listed. Then just click and play.)

What the Papers Say

DRAWING WITHOUT SYMBOLS by S. Kaplan
(American Artist Feb 13 07)
Stephanie Kaplan follows a class of students on the 5-day intensive drawing seminar, taught by Brian Bomeisler, Betty Edwards' son as they learn to avoid using symbols in their drawing. Includes student drawings and a description of the class and what students learned.

"I walked in on Monday morning feeling hopeless about my complete lack of drawing ability; I walked out on Friday afternoon feeling exhilarated and happy about my newfound skills. Brian gave me a set of tools and techniques—both knowledge and physical tools—that enabled me to overcome my insecurity about putting pencil to paper."
Maria Mosca(attended the workshop to improve her drawing skills for graduate work in landscape design)

"...simplifies complicated processes by breaking them down into easy steps. For me, each day’s class was illuminating; I likened it to Plato's allegory of the cave: once you lose your preconceived notions of art, you see with clarity."
Michael Zamagias, student

Read the full article here (a new window will open)

INSIDE THE ATELIER by Brian Bomeisler
(American Artist July 17 06)
Brian Bomeisler, Betty Edwards' son and director of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Inc, explains what happens on the first day of the intensive 5-day Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain workshop.

“The workshop really does make you think in new ways, and it really helped my drawing. The course makes me more self-confident because I can't deny the quality of my final drawings. Betty Edwards really gets it right in her book.”
Douglas Coleman, student

Read the full article here (a new window will open)

LET COMPUTERS COMPUTE: ITS THE AGE OF THE RIGHT BRAIN by Janet Rae-Dupree
(The New York Times (April 6 2008)

Now that we’re hip-deep in what has been called both the “Creative Economy” and the “Conceptual Age,” no one can afford to ignore the artist within: the right hemisphere of the brain.

Author Daniel Pink argues that it’s time for our imaginative right brain, which sees the entire forest all at once, to take center stage.

“These abilities have always been part of what it means to be human,”notes Mr. Pink, who synthesized his ideas about the new role of right-brain thinking in his 2005 book “A Whole New Mind.” “It’s just that after a few generations in the Information Age, many of our high-concept, high-touch muscles [ie. right brain muscles] have atrophied. The challenge is to work them back into shape.”

One way of doing this is by developing right-brain skills such as drawing. Brian Bomeisler has been working in the corporate world doing exactly that. He's found:

“In teaching them how to draw, I’m teaching them an entirely new way to see. They unbox their minds and absorb what’s really there, with all of the complexity and beauty. One of the common phrases that students use afterward is that the world appears to be so much richer."

Read the full article here

Drawing Blogs

Gretchen Rubin, writes about her experience of the 5-day intensive course in her blog, The Happiness Project:

"Apart from the drawing, the class boosted my happiness in several ways: it put me in touch with new people and ideas; it gave me an adventure outside of my usual routine; by taking me out of my routine, it heightened my appreciation for my usual routine; it gave me the sense of “growth” so important to happiness; it gave me a sense of freedom to realize that I could decide to do something like this and carry it through.

Also – and I didn’t expect this – the class helped me to recognize what I’m actually interested in learning. Before this class, I thought of “art” as a vast subject in which I had an undeveloped but real interest. I wanted to learn something, but I didn’t know quite what.

Now I see more clearly what I’d like to learn. I’d like to learn how to sketch..."
Gretchen Rubin, student

Visit Gretchen Rubin's blog here (a new window will open)

Colin McGowan took the 5-day Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain workshop in 2005. You can view his drawings from the course here

Colin also took the 3-day Color Course devised by Betty Edwards. This course is only available through Brian Bomeisler (see the link at the bottom of the page for more information).

A course in mastering the art of mixing colours

The Color workshop teaches a practical understanding of colour theory and participants learn how to mix colours in a deliberate way and thereby achieve the colours they want.

See what Colin did on the Color workshop here

Would You Like to Have a Go?

If you like the sound of what you've heard and read and would like to experience the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain method yourself, why not treat yourself?

Information and dates for courses in the UK with Anna Black are listed here

To find out more about courses with Brian Bomeisler in the United States, visit www.drawright.com

Return to Learn to Draw Right home page

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