Mental health and creativity
Mental health is as important as physical fitness, but having flexible, fast acting and flawlessly performing brain is more important than anything else. Drawing and painting are some of the best things we can do in order to increase the brain activity, improve our memory and become more confident, self-aware and efficient with making decisions. It is needless to say that drawing and painting are calming, relaxing and rewarding.
Boosting brain performance and creating more
Every line and brushstroke we put down on paper or canvas comes from the brain impulses and activity of neurons in certain parts of the brain. Your hand doesn’t move on its own, it’s guided by your perception and the ability to transform visually and sensually perceived information into individualized personal experience. This experience is reflected on paper or canvas as you draw or paint. It is a very complex process, and we tend to think there are mysterious powers involved. I sort of want to remove the magic aspect from creativity, just to keep things simple. Inspiration will add the magic, but we have to start from the basics.
Seeing and being able to recreate what you see
Most people do not see the surrounding world as an artist does. So, the first task is learning to recognize all the multiple aspects of transforming a simple visual image into art that exhibits the artistically applicable features of this image. How do we do that? What do we need to see and notice in order to paint and draw?
Echo of image in the brain
Anything we draw or paint must find some echo in the storage space of our imagination. Such space of stored images is present within any memory and it is based on associative knowledge and acquired knowledge. Anything we create always relates to our fundamental knowledge of this world. Yet, the drawing or painting we are doing has specific subject, specific theme and atmosphere. It is a scene like no other because it always presents individual features. No two apples are exactly the same, no flower copies the other one exactly line by line, not to mention faces, landscapes or complex views.
Personal experience and personal decisions
Since most people, who learn painting or drawing, believe that getting all information from the outside and simply following somebody without making their own decision will do the job, the first artworks usually do not come out that great. While we are sketching or blocking in the basic shapes or lines, we should already try to decide why everything is where it is, and why composition evolves as it does. The reason we place the objects on our paper or canvas as we do, should be based on a decision. We should also decide early and plan for effects which we create later.
Decision making is as important as application of art tools
Adding paint or other elements is always based on decision-making. We decide about values, shapes, edges, washes, and we need to apply color if it is a color painting. Our brain has to make these decisions fast. Most mediums require using relevant timing. If we hesitate too much with watercolor layering, it simply will be too late to achieve flow of watercolor that makes such painting outstanding. If we are too slow, the acrylic layer we worked on, will be already dry or tacky and we will have to return to it later.
What is blocking our ability to paint?
There are two main things which are blocking our ability to proceed with painting or drawing when somebody attends or watches a class. We believe that instructor has made all decisions for us and our task is to blindly follow and to repeat what we see; and we are trying to do everything without any knowledge of why. There is no reasoning, no decisions which arise in our own brain.
Do you know what you do?
For instance, when I ask what a particular student is doing with some particular part of the painting, a very frequent answer is: “I don’t know”. How come? You have to know why you want one part dark and how to achieve that. You have to decide whether your subject is small or large, whether it has lost edges or sharp edges. Basically, we have to decide what exactly and why exactly we want to do.
No brushstroke without goal
The biggest issue is aimless brushing around, moving paint all over the canvas or paper until any distinction is lost and everything has become the same color. That is the result of not making a decision. When we decide that clouds are large and grey, we use paint to achieve this and so on. It’s obvious that only acting based on decision can contribute to implementation of our intentions.
Art instructor is not a magician
The art instructor or art teacher isn’t a magician; they cannot affect directly and immediately the way your brain works. They hope you pay attention to what they say and demonstrate and you will make your own decisions based on this advice. However, if you do not know the answer to why, what, when and how, the progress is noticeably delayed. Therefore, I also advice doing value sketches. This does not slow down, but helps tremendously with planning and deciding on what, where and how we paint.
Decision making for other areas of life
Eventually, the decision making we learn in the classroom allows us becoming more efficient with decisions in other areas of life. Everything we do should be based on decision, not impulse and lack of thinking. We should not have to admit: I don’t know why I am doing this. Unfortunately, nobody can provide you with a dose of understanding perspective, values, shapes, contrasts, layouts and other elements as a capsule or tablet to simply swallow and apply.
Fall still life based on drawing: Fall still life
More about drawing: Magic attraction of drawing
Thanks Natalie!
Totally agree – painting certainly makes me better equipped mentally for my world. I love the red jug you painted 4 years ago. It has such depth and solidity (sorry couldn’t think of a better word to describe it).
Thanks Christine! I was a bit inaccurate: it was started 4 years ago, then thrown into pile of unfinished works, then touched up here and there until I recently decided to do something about it, so I finished it just now a few weeks ago. I use that red jug as a reference for many paintings in set-ups. I have about 8 different jugs, they look good in paintings and I love the shape.
A lot of good information. Your paintings have so much depth and dimension. That’s where I have difficulty.. I believe it has to do with shading etc. Is that what it is? Diane
Thanks Diane! I call them values, strong and weak, or you could say shadows, etc. which basically is different shades of color: dark, medium dark (mostly local color) and lights, lightest lights and highlights. It takes a lot of layers; with the smaller still life, I got really tired because I find yellow is such a badly performing acrylic color now.
When you say layers, does that mean you paint the different shades ..lighter, dark over top of each other. ? I don’t mean to ask you again, but I was wondering if that’s what it really means… Diane
Yes, that’s exactly what I do. Acrylic dries way too fast to get everything done at the same time, so we just take it one step at a time. Medium dark/light color which we call local color is a good starting point because you can go both directions from there: darker and lighter. We should use highlights at the end. Sometimes glazing over helps, that’s a thin layer, diluted either with some glazing medium or you could use simply water. You do not correct or paint over spots that are already good, but add lights or darks where they are missing.
Thank you. I’ll save that information… Diane
And the best is just to apply it next time with some simple flower or some still life because it is easier to learn layers like that.
That’s what I was thinking.. of painting some small rosebuds in a vase… Thanks again… Diane
Yes, you start with something simple enough to keep an eye on color intensity and value transitions, so that you can use interchangeably darks and lights, etc.
Nice paintings, I like your bold simple style.
Thanks! Well, it’s acrylic. I find the only way I can do demos at classes and workshops and later adjust paintings to my taste is to keep shapes simple, even though, it takes many months to get to this stage.
I love this article. Expecially the part talking about neurons. Hahaha. I’ve heard drawing improves brain activity before and memory.
Keep up the amazing post!!
Well, along with art which I have been doing since very early childhood I am involved in medical research. That means studying all kinds of medical matters, comparing data from clinical trials and patient data, etc., as well as writing instructions for medical personnel. I write about this in my other blog https://inesepogalifeschool.com/
I was always amazed how drawing developed my memory, to the extent that I could easily memorize up to 60 pages just looking at them. Studying at University due to this was extremely easy. I do not need any lists, I usually don’t take any measurements, and I mainly do not need to use camera because memory stores it all.
Therefore, my main interest in clinical research has always been the brain activity and the way brain chemicals work, interact and so on. Such information was not available back then, 50 or so years ago; but internet has enabled quick exchange of data and that proves that our current knowledge of the brain is still somewhat extremely limited.
Nevertheless, there is nothing like drawing and painting when it comes to maintenance and development of brain cells: this activity among any others is very specific and fulfills all requirements and addresses all processes which involve brain activity. In the result of this, not only neurons extend their life, there are way more new ones and brain does not decrease in mass and these cells do not die off as fast with human aging. That’s a huge material and lots and lots of data, but the proof is already out there. Why the popularity of this conclusion is so limited? Because promoting simple drawing and brushing around with paints doesn’t provide pharmaceutical companies with their insane profits as in case of some miracle supplement. I’ve been writing about this very many times. The only precondition is doing it very regularly and using for subjects real life scenes or objects.
I’m only 19 at the moment but I’m slowly trying to evolve as an artist and see what happens. I love learning new information about art in general. Yeah art isn’t ignolaged as much as it should be. That’s why people like us are here to share. I quit my job recently and I’m working-class on art full time and trying to run a few websites. I fell like I have no purpose on this world but to create art. If that means I die a “poor” man in the materialistic matter. I’ll have all my art and be happy. That’s worth more than money to me.
It’s certainly worth a try. Sticking with what makes one happy as opposed to what makes one rich isn’t such a bad thing. There are lots more people who will never appreciate any art, but there is also a big deal of those who will. You can spend your time surrounded by creative ideas and colors instead of stressful coworkers and angry bosses. I hope it turns out great and you have all kinds of success.
Thank every little bit helps. Everyday I contine living I always wonder why am I doing this…. you get it lol. See I have to look at the progression and never give up
It’s good to be persistent with something. That keeps us alive and going.
Yes exactly or you have no purpose to be alive. We all have a purpose we just need to look for it
Ok, I’ve got to run anyway, I have large painting workshop on Saturday, still need to buy more materials. Take the best care of yourself!
Thanks will do good luck to you as well!
Thanks Brandon!
I just typed up a huge paragraph and now it’s not there :/ I’ll try to recap what I said
Well, that happens.
Nevermind lol its there. You replied to it. Learning how to use this app haha
Love this article especially the part about the neurons. Art has much to bring to this world. We need more of it hahaha. Really loved this article by the way
The part about the neurons is very interesting
Great pleasure to read all interesting comments! Thanks!