If I asked 20 grown men and women here now to draw a self portrait, I'm pretty sure that the outcome for at least 70% of them would be two circles with black dots for eyes, a curved line for the nose, complete with a thin lined happy face smile. Consequently resembling that of a child's drawing. Why is it that some people can "draw" and others can't - or think they can't? The answer is simple - they aren't seeing the way that an artist sees.

First of all, you need to know how your brain works. You all know that there are two sides to the human brain : the left and the right. The right side controls the left side of your body, and the left side controls the right side of your body.

When you calculate a mathematical problem, you're using the left side of your brain to do this. This is the side of your brain that controls the "logical" or "real" things that you encounter.

So what about the right side of your brain? Well, this is what some people call the "illogical" or "wrong" thinking mode of your brain. Sometimes when kids started writing with their left hand, their parents would try to get them to use their right hand (recall that the right side of your brain controls your left hand) - this is why some people considered it wrong. But its not wrong - and the right side of your brain even sees things more clearly than your left. Ever have one of those "Eureka!" ideas?...that's the right side of your brain thinking - it goes beyond truth and becomes very imaginative. And ever notice if you're reading a book that you sort of zone out and don't notice how fast the time is going? - well this means that you've switched over to the right side of your brain also. And this is the side of the brain you have to be functioning with in order to perceive things as they are and be able to draw them to look like what you're seeing. This is the way an artist sees - and this is how you have to see in order to master the art of drawing.

A good way to switch over to the right side of your brain in order to draw well, is to draw a picture upside down - that way you're left side becomes confused - the left side only understands things that it recognizes. Like when you draw a person, notice how they always look the same? This is what your left mode has "memorized" and it is telling you to draw that, no matter what. An upside down drawing is confusing and unrecognizable to the left side - it doesn't recognize noses and eyes - it just sees lines and curves. Therefore, forcing your right side to take over. May sound crazy, I know, and the whole concept is still pretty frustrating and unclear, but I've seen it done! Try it, you'll be amazed at the results! As long as you're in the right state of mind, then anybody can learn to draw! Perfection comes with practice, so don't give up!

-J-