The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Paperback)

~ (Author) "DRAWING IS A CURIOUS PROCESS, so intertwined with seeing that the two can hardly be separated..." (more)
Key Phrases: picture plane, plastic picture plane, sighting proportions, Basic Unit, Pure Contour Drawing, Brian Bomeisler (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'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.' Los Angeles Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

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."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; Rev Exp edition (August 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874774241
• ISBN-13: 978-0874774245
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (199 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Instructional & How-To > Drawing
  #1 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Reference
  #1 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Instructional

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

153 of 155 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

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!

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can Make An Artist Out Of Anyone!, May 26, 2000

By	carol irvin "carol irvin" (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I made abstract art for two decades but it took this book, and a matching course I took at my local Ursuline College, to convince me that I could also learn realism. Today, I continue to improve in drawing recognizable people, a feat which used to be totally beyond me. This book shows you ways of tricking your brain into shifting sides so that you can "see" people and objects in the three dimensional world the way only a few "artistic" people otherwise seemed capable of seeing and then depicting.

93 of 99 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

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.