The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: A Course in Enhancing Creativity and Artistic Confidence [Hardcover]

Betty Edwards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 1999

illustrated with 12-page color photo insert and line art throughout

A revised and expanded edition of the classic drawing-instruction book that has sold more than 2,500,000 copies.

When Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was first published in 1979, it hit the New York Times bestseller list within two weeks and stayed there for more than a year. In 1989, when Dr. Betty Edwards revised the book, it went straight to the Times list again. Now Dr. Edwards celebrates the twentieth anniversary of her classic book with a second revised edition.

Over the last decade, Dr. Edwards has refined her material through teaching hundreds of workshops and seminars. Truly The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, this edition includes:

* the very latest developments in brain research;
* new material on using drawing techniques in the corporate world and in education;
* instruction on self-expression through drawing;
* an updated section on using color; and
* detailed information on using the five basic skills of drawing for problem solving.

Translated into thirteen languages, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is the world's most widely used drawing-instruction guide. People from just about every walk of life--artists, students, corporate executives, architects, real estate agents, designers, engineers--have applied its revolutionary approach to problem solving. The Los Angeles Times said it best: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is "not only a book about drawing, it is a book about living. This brilliant approach to the teaching of drawing . . . should not be dismissed as a mere text. It emancipates."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Betty Edwards is Professor Emeritus in Art at California State University in Long Beach. She has been profiled by the Los Angeles Times, the Seattle Times, Reader's Digest, Time magazine, New York magazine, Intuition magazine, and the Today show. She speaks about the relationship of drawing to brain process at universities, art schools, and major corporations, including IBM, General Electric, and Disney. She lives in Santa Monica, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; Rev Exp edition (September 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874774195
• ISBN-13: 978-0874774191
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (243 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing
  • #40 in Books > Self-Help > Creativity

More About the Author

Betty Edwards is professor emeritus of art at California State University. She is the author of The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, the world's most widely used drawing instructional.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

211 of 219 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It took me from stick men to portraits in three days., December 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Paperback)

I can't emphatize how good this book is. I used to consider myself absolutely useless at drawing. I barely managed to pass exams at art classes at school. Now I am drawing fairly decent portraits from almost everyone I know. The book focueses on seeing the things' real shapes and it is just this non rational, non mathematically based approach that makes it work. I used to have big problems with proportions and perspective, and Betty Edwards made me realise it's all a matter of looking at things with loving attention (and not attaching a name to the bit you are drawing). This book has made me realise I've lost many years of my life blocking myself as an artist. Drawing is a skill that everyone can learn. Do it with this book!

186 of 193 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I prefer the 1989 edition of "Drawing...", September 16, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Paperback)

I'm in a drawing course at a community college where the instructor has used the 1989 edition for a number of years with good results. Needing the book, I purchased the new edition (by mistake) through Amazon and must return it. However, having now reviewed both books, I believe that the new edition suffers by comparison.

There are too many mechanical aids required in the new edition, and the mechanics of their application is poorly and vaguely explained, which will discourage some people. My general feeling is also that the author is stretching to revitalize the work and, in the process, has weakened its impact.

Though I find her work valuable and helpful, I'm distracted by the lengthly and repetitious discussions about the need to silence the left brain and to allow the right brain to function. A great deal of verbiage could have been saved if most of this was edited out and replaced by a short phrase to simply remind the reader of this necessity.

However, having said these things, let me also say that I have found the book to be valuable and helpful in my own efforts to gain solid drawing skills that should allow me to render better value sketches before I start my watercolors.

96 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is absolutely the best book on drawing in print, January 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Paperback)

I have a degree in commercial art and learned more about drawing from this book than I did in four years of undergraduate instruction. If you practice everyday what Ms. Edwards teaches you will be drawing as good as any professional artist in six months. This really is the best book on drawing ever published!