Welcome to Drawing Matters. Today we've moved to British Summer Time in the UK so suddenly the days feel longer and more spacious, with more time for drawing - roll on summer! I'm looking forward too to the first course of the year at Trigonos in North Wales at the end of next month.
All the courses for next year are now full but if you want to go on a waiting list in case someone drops out please contact me below. Those on my mailing list are always the first to hear about new course dates so if you are disappointed please contact me below and I will make sure you are on that list for next time. In this month's newsletter you will find:

• Information about the content 5-day Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain course, devised by Dr. Betty Edwards. This includes links for viewing a slideshow of participants' work and reading course feedback.


• UK Course Dates for 2011 Details of courses for this year


• Drawing Coach: Simplify...Simplify...


• Don't Miss: WatteauThe Royal Academy in London has the first major retrospective of Watteau's drawings


• We're on Facebook Learn to Draw Right now has a page on Facebook


• Drawing Matters Facebook Group has now been created so why not join it and keep in touch with fellow artists around the world...

If your computer only allows you to view a text only version of this newsletter you can see the colour version with colour images here

I hope you will find Drawing Matters interesting and I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions from you. Please feel free to forward it to anyone who you think might be interested. There is a link at the bottom of the page where they can subscribe.
You can contact me here

Anna Black
Certified Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain instructor, operating under license from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (www.drawright.com)

Course Dates 2011

All places are now taken but please contact me if you'd like to be added to a waiting list.

NORTH WALES: 30th April - 5th May 2011 This course is residential

WHERE? Trigonos, Nantlle, North Wales (nearest train station is Bangor) HOW MUCH? £475 plus accommodation and full board

• 35 Hours of teaching
• The Drawing Portfolio (RRP Over £70).
  The contents of the Drawing Portfolio were designed by Dr Betty Edwards and Brian Bomeisler. It includes all the materials you will need for the course, including drawing tools unique to Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. These unique tools were developed by Brian Bomeisler based on those used by the Old Masters. The Portfolio and its contents are yours to take home and keep.
• The Course Fee does not include accommodation or full board. There is an additional cost for this which varies depending on the room.

Find out more and how to book here

• 35 Hours of teaching
• The Drawing Portfolio (RRP Over £70)*see note below.
  

  This course is now full. Please contact me if you'd like to go on a waiting list in case a place becomes available
  
  

  
  
  
  LONDON: 15th - 19th August 2011 This course is full
  
  WHERE? Amadeus Centre, Shirland Road, Little Venice, London W9 HOW MUCH? £475 plus accommodation and full board
  
  

  EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT £50 off Special Course Fee price of £425 if you book and pay in full before 1st April 2011

  
  Course fee includes:
  • 35 Hours of teaching
  • The Drawing Portfolio (RRP Over £70)*see note below.
    

    This course is now full. Please contact me if you'd like to go on a waiting list in case a place becomes available
    
    The contents of the Drawing Portfolio were designed by Dr Betty Edwards and Brian Bomeisler. It includes all the materials you will need for the course, including drawing tools unique to Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. These unique tools were developed by Brian Bomeisler based on those used by the Old Masters. The Portfolio and its contents are yours to take home and keep.
    
    UNITED STATES
    If you are interested in purchasing the portfolio separately or for courses in the United States with Brian Bomeisler, follow the link at the bottom of the page.
    
    MAILING LIST
    If you would like to be among the first to hear about new course dates in the UK as soon as they are announced please contact me to be added to the mailing list.
    
    View a slideshow of student drawings and class photos
    If you are interested in booking for next year but you are still sceptical that you will really learn the basic skills of drawing in just five days, why don't you view a slideshow showing some drawings done by participants on the course here (a new window will open)
    
    
    Read participants' feedback on the course devised by Dr Edwards and taught by Anna Black
    
    
    

    "I have enjoyed every minute of this course - although I found it really difficult at times and wanted to stop and go home. I know this statment is paradoxical - I have learnt a huge amount and I am pleased with my final 'portrait"
    You can also read some participant feedback and a more indepth account of one participant's experience here (a new window will open)
    

    To find out more about how the course is structured and what you will learn, click here
    
    

    For further information and a booking form, click here
    
    
    Read what the media and other people have thought of Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain course here ( a new window will open)
    
    

    ---

    
    

    DRAWING COACH: SIMPLIFY.. SIMPLIFY

    When we look at something we want to draw our eyes see far too much. We want to put in every detail we can see but doing that often makes our drawings much weaker. The principle, whether drawing or painting, is always to work from the general to the specific. When you are beginning drawing it can be particularly helpful to deliberately focus on simplifying your subject. Here are some tips:
    • Squint! Yes it might not look elegant and you might find it tricky to do at first but if you squint it will be easier for you to ‘find’ and ‘see’ big shapes of light / dark. Squinting does get easier with practice.
    • Use a viewfinder. Brian Bomeisler devised the viewfinders we use on the DRSB courses basing them on tools used by renaissance artists. The viewfinder works like a zoom on a camera lens – you can focus in or pull out from your subject and the frame works at blocking out the extraneous edges you don’t want in your picture and that can be confusing. You can always make your own viewfinder (the instructions are in Dr Edwards’ book The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, you can buy them from www.drawright.com or you can use one of those old plastic slide mounts. You can of course, always use your hands as an alternative.
    • If you are working from a colour photograph I’d suggest you turn it into a black and white image to help distinguish the value ranges. You can do this on a photocopier or on a desktop photo editing programme. Once you have done that, look at the image and decide (a) which is the darkest area? (b) which is the middle tone? (c) which is the light tone? Allocate every part of the image to one of those 3 categories (don’t worry about subtleties here). Then copy the image just using those 3 values and working in a monchrome of black (or alternative) and white. This is a really useful exercise.
    • Finally, don’t feel obliged to put in everything you see. Looking at a work of art is an interactive process and the viewer ‘participates’ by being involved in working out the image visually. If you have too much detail there is also a danger of the image looking fragmented.
    • You will also find it much easier if you work with strong directional light that casts shadows on the subject. If the light is flat – whether working from life or a photograph – it will be much more of a challenge to make it look three-dimensional.
    
    
    

    ---

    
    

    DON'T MISS... WATTEAU DRAWINGS

    I love the simplicity of red chalk drawings - perhaps supplemented with a bit of black and white chalk. Drawings are rarely on display in permanent collections due to their fragility so I think it's always worth seizing every opportuntity to see any drawing exhibition.

    The Royal Academy of Arts in London is currently showing the first major retrospective exhibition of Jean-Antoine Watteau’s (1684 – 1721) drawings to be held in the UK. The exhibition is on until 5th June 2011 and it's one I don't want to miss! The Wallace Collection also has an exhibtion on Watteau's paintings.
    You can find out more about the RA exhibition here
    

    ---

    
    

    Visit Learn to Draw Right on Facebook

    Visit Learn to Draw Right on Facebook here
    You can keep in touch by just becoming a Fan by clicking on the relevant button.

    Also, there is now a DRAWING MATTERS FACEBOOK GROUP page you can join. This is interactive and like any group is only as good as its contributors so this is the place you can ask questions, answer other people's questions, share tips etc etc. here
    
    

    ---

    Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain USA

    To find out about Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain courses run by Brian Bomeisler in the USA visit www.drawright.com
    

    ---

    
    

    Received this Newsletter from a Friend?

    If you've been forwarded this Newsletter from a friend and you'd like to subscribe to Drawing Matters yourself, just

    click here
    

    ---

    www.learn-to-draw-right.com
    Anna Black
    London, UK

    Contact Anna here

    
    
    © Anna Black, London, UK 2007
    Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
    is a registered trademark of
    Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Inc.,
    and is used here under licence

    
    SBI!