It can be so frustrating when you are told to 'draw what you see'. You think you are, but then you look at your drawing and it is nothing like your subject. So what is going on? Are our eyes playing tricks with us? This straight forward exercise will transform the way you look, the way your brain works and ultimately improve your drawing beyond recognition. And it is simply turning your reference photo upside down and drawing it upside down. This works with any subject, but in this quick demonstration I will show you how I use it to sketch a face ready for a watercolour portrait.
The scientific explanation is that the left side of our brain is bossy and overrules the right side of our brain. The left is analytical and logical - it uses its experience and says 'we are drawing an eye, I know what an eye looks like'. If you can quieten it down, then the creative right side of your brain can get a word in edgeways and actually look at what is there. By turning the reference upside down, the left side takes a back seat allowing the right to interpret the photo as lines, shapes, tone and patterns. This leads to a far more accurate drawing.
There is a wonderful book called 'Drawing on the right side of the brain' by Betty Edwards which uses this exercise with a Picasso drawing. Here we will use a photo of a lovely older man. I have been taking part in a '30 faces 30 days' challenge with Sktchy and this was one of the challenges.
I show you how i start with negative space - the air around the head and then draw the features. Once we are happy of course we can turn it the right way up and adjust anything we need to. In hindsight, I made his face a bit too wide, but never mind! It is still a better and faster drawing than if i did it the right way up.
If you are feeling brave, then why not do the painting upside down too??? You can find the reference on the community tab on this channel www.youtube.com/c/lizchadertonart.
If you enjoy this tutorial, then check out my other portrait painting films and please consider subscribing. I try to do a film each week covering a tip, trick or technique.
If you are looking for more in depth watercolour classes and workshops, please head on over to www.lizchadertonstudio.co.uk where you will find line and wash, animal and bird portrait courses among others.
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