Working Upside Down

Sometimes, when creating art, I worry about detail and forget about the bigger picture, the more important overall shapes. It's easy to get hung up on separate objects- the eye, the tree, etc. forgetting that these objects are part of larger value shapes.

In my own art and with my students I am constantly practicing ways to keep concentration on the bigger picture (at least until the work is almost done).

One great way to do this is to work with your materials- canvas, paper, references, etc, upside down.




This is a piece I did years ago (and posted earlier) on a day when I just couldn't get into the flow to work. I ended up turning my reference photo and watercolor paper upside down. I had so much fun sketching it that way that it's how I kept working until near the end of the painting.

In Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, Betty Edwards say that drawing or painting upside down forces our brain function to the right side (the creative side). Drawings done this way can be just as accurate and often more so than those created right side up.



This is a sketch a student started in class. Finished upside down work will post soon.