ESO STUDIO CREATIVE WORKSHOP

LESSON two —
drawing and the beauty of being present

In his book The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle writes, “Always say “yes” to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? What could be more insane than to oppose life itself, which is now and always now? Surrender to what is. Say “yes” to life — and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.”

happy new year!

Given all the stressors we’ve been dealing with lately, there is a definite longing to achieve being in the present. I know for me, leaving my job and creating a new business during a pandemic is only one example which has left me a little scared and anxious. I wondered how we could use this workshop to get ourselves to the present moment in the New Year?

I remembered the significance of drawing. Drawing is a beautiful tool. Rather than taking just another unceremonious photo with our phone, drawing forces us to pay attention. It helps us to see things differently. Details we may never have noticed start to appear and we recognize the many overlooked parts that make up the whole. Drawing actually helps us shift to the non-verbal, non rational side of our brain. By shifting to the right side of our brain we literally lose track of time and don’t even have the opportunity to suffer with our anxieties, even if just for a little bit.

There’s a great book about this shifting from the analytical (or left) side of our brain to the nonverbal (right) side. It’s called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards.

In the book there are several assignments that “trick” your controlling left brain and allow your right brain to see things as they are. I love to teach my students drawing because anyone can do it. It’s not some superior ability - it’s a skill that can be learned and developed. It just takes a little practice.

contour line drawing

One of my favorites ways to begin drawing is with Contour Line Drawing or Blind Contour Line Drawing. A contour is a line that defines the edges of things. Like the outline of a figure, or the edges of clothing, shapes, etc.

To do a contour line drawing all you need is something to draw on and a pencil, pen, or marker. The idea is that you are not allowed to look at your paper. Your pencil draws the edges your eyes follow as slowly as possible. It feels super uncomfortable at first, because your Left brain doesn’t like it….it wants control. As Betty Edwards says the left brain “dislikes the task because the perceptions are too meticulous, too slow-and in left-brain terms, boring and useless--the L-mode soon drops out allowing the R-mode to come forward.”

When you start, everything looks like a wacky bunch of scribbles-- the lines become beautiful marks.

Eventually, you can look at your paper a little more if you want your piece to be a bit more legible. But the key is always focusing more on the object you are drawing - you only look at the paper to “check” quickly, and go back to the object. Hands are always a good thing to try. You can do it with anything. My favorite are people and self portraits.