I Can See Clearly Now - Shapes

Do you "see" things differently? Do you find yourself wondering why everyone says the color is beige and you can clearly see the green overtone? When you look at a bird do you see an oval and circle (body and head) and build out from there? Do people remark that you are observant (because you are an artist)?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you might be an artist!

Seeing things differently can come naturally, but can also be learned or refined with practice - and sometimes with training. It happens when you shift" into the right side of your brain and observe with that creative half of the brain. We discussed a book written about how to use this skill to enhance your artistic ability here: Learning To Draw On The Right Side of the Brain.

Now I would like to cover why this is important to you. I have cultivated these skills through the years because they make my work easier when I take pencil or brush to canvas - or whatever. "Seeing" differently removes the confusion that often happens when you look at something you want to draw or paint and don't know where to start the sketch.

When you look at any object, you can begin to see the shapes that make it up. Sometimes it is easy. A grain silo is obviously a cylinder topped by a cone. But more complicated shapes require further breaking down of the component shapes.

A dog has many sections, but you can begin by seeing the main part of the body as an oval, each section of the legs as slender rectangles, the main part of the head as another oval with a rectangle attached (the muzzle). Unless you have a pug! Then you just add a button to the front of the head! LOL!!

You will have to place the shapes in the proper locations, then smooth between the basic shapes with connecting lines, usually gentle curves. Almost any object, living or inanimate can be put together this way. Practice it. Force yourself to look beyond the obvious. Stop what you are doing, get quiet and just look for a few seconds. You can do it.

To sum it up, you can learn to make your life easier by cultivating the are of "seeing" differently. Relax ... enjoy... that's the point and the beauty of art anyway.

There are three links below to books that will help you to begin to learn to do the drawings that will help your artwork to progress.

Please stop by our forum to see what other artists are talking about and to ask your own questions. The link is at the bottom of this article

Happy Painting,

Paula Devore
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