Anyone can draw!

José by Marilyn Diggs

“If your handwriting is readable, or if you can print legibly,

you  can draw!   Drawing is a skill that can be learned by

every  normal person with average eyesight and average

eye-hand coordination .” – Betty Edwards, PhD in the Art Dept.

at California State University and  author of  theory and book,Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

It´s true. All you have to do is to learn to tap into the right side of the brain. I have been teaching drawing using this theory since 1991 and the results seem magical.

Basically...we have two sides of the brain - the left side which is logical and the right side which is creative. If we are right-handed we use the left side most of the time, if left-handed, we use the right side. That does not mean that every left handed person is an artist, ( even though Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Titian and others were lefties!) but they do find creative solutions to problem-solving!

Right hand artists somehow, very naturally,  tap into the right side. BUT, anyone can learn how to do that with some  specific exercises that teach you to see differently - like an artist sees. Do you believe me?

Try this: Write a name on a piece of paper ( ie. Jack Smith). Now underneath it, copy it.
OK. Turn the paper around so that the original signature is upside down. Copy what you see. Slowly.
Which  name better resembles the original handwriting of the original name?
I´ll tell you why in the next blog.
www.mdiggsart.com

Spinning Color

The Pinwheel Seller

Just like Central Park in NYC, we have Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo, Brazil. It is a favorite spot for joggers, family picnics, sweethearts and dog walkers. On the weekends children accompany their parents, as they escape from the concrete jungle, into the greeness. It is full of inspiration for my paintings.

On Sundays, vendors sell colorful balloons, kites, cotton candy and my favorite - pinwheels.  Here, a broom handle is cleverly converted into a pinwheel display, allowing the vendor to circulate freely among the park visitors.

I like the abstract quality of this painting, as people play hide-and-seek amidst the swirling color. The scene is like a piece of a parade,  recreating a child's world of fantasy and gaiety, even if only for a passing moment.

http://www.mdiggsart.com/

How Artists Use Red

Ah, the color red! What an exciting color! Aggressive, sensual, nothing laid-back about it.

But, now that you´ve discovered temperature in colors (see previous postings), you see that red isn´t simply red! An artist knows that. For instance, cherry red has blue in it, making it cooler than tomatoe red, which has yellow in its make up.

Summer Strawberries

Red can make a painting "pop" !

See "Summer Strawberries".

Artists know that red pulls the eyes to the front so they must avoid putting a boy in a bright red shirt in the background of a scene.

Next time you "see red", try to determine its temperature!

http://www.mdiggsart.com/