Sketching and drawing for ageless brain and memory

Sketching and drawing from nature versus supplements

If you draw manually, you don’t need to purchase any brain flexibility and memory boosting supplements and medications. Manual drawing as an activity is far more superior to writing, reading, solving crosswords or simply memorizing words. Lots of research has been done in this area to date, and I suppose it’s important to point people in this direction, but I didn’t need any research to be sure about how much manual drawing increases memory, fact processing, focus, decision making and any type of activity where engagement of the brain is required.

Just get started

From the first days at school, I couldn’t help but notice how easy it was for me to recall and remember things without any effort. I had only excellent and the best grades in all school subjects from elementary school, to high school to University, especially in math, chemistry, history, biology, geography and foreign languages (Russian and German), although I spent very little time studying. I lived in a very different environment back then. We had no nursery schools, kindergartens or similar available in early 1960 in Soviet Latvia. Both parents worked, my grandmother was always busy, I was practically on my own. I started to draw very early. I was drawing anything which was around and since I didn’t have a special drawing paper I was using wrapping paper or any paper which had space for my potential drawing.

Practice is the mother of skill

During all school years, including high school, I drew every single day and read a book a day. We didn’t have internet, computers or even TV back then. Photos were taken on exceptional occasions, like wedding or big anniversary. My drawing was always based on my own visual perception and ability to recreate what I saw. Nobody ever taught me or explained how to draw, but I experienced almost daily discoveries in recreating volume, dimension, getting good shadows and so forth. I studied available books going systematically through art history from ancient Egyptians to French impressionists, to Russian and West European classic art and Latvian artists. I illustrated every single book I read. I drew death masks of Egyptian princesses, Nefertiti’s head, Roman citizens, renaissance buildings, book characters. Nobody paints in my family  and never did, so, it was a complete self-development.

I was right

After I started teaching, I noticed very quickly that my German language groups which also did drawing course with me, succeeded much faster than the others in languages also. Later in life, I paid special attention to how well somebody’s memory was depending on whether they loved drawing or not. When internet became available, I could see that my guess was 100% correct. Other people had also noticed the mental and memory advantages which were apparent in people who loved drawing just about anything.

Research backs me up

Research has proven the superiority of manual drawing over other similar activities. You can check out Canadian University of Waterloo research pages which show why manual drawing works so well in boosting memory. Nowadays, people do not have to write or draw a lot because devices can do all of that. It works best when you do not focus on the result, but on the drawing process. Research also finds that improvement of brain activity and brain cell longevity does not depend on quality of drawing. It’s the process and the way we handle the image mentally and recreate it using vision and manual drawing. Even when you’d describe the drawing as bad or poor, it still has done so much good for the brain. Result matters if you are entering an art competition, but it doesn’t if you are doing exercises for the brain and your memory.

No need for perfection

People also want everything to be perfect nowadays, and get that result practically immediately, therefore, they’d trace or project photos, print off outlines or the entire image and so forth. Well, that is the part of drawing which won’t give the necessary boost to the brain because, like I mentioned before, the key is the image processing and active recreation of it. You will still learn new things, and that is always advantageous, but to a lesser level.

Engage in manual drawing, develop a habit

I had to write this because I’m seeing how many ads ask you to purchase all kinds of supplements, medications and use treatments to improve memory and brain flexibility. Why not to enjoy a wonderful meditation-like state of mind and achieve a great memory naturally? Drawing also doesn’t require many art supplies, just decent paper and sharp pencil. Try using no eraser and that will allow you advancing much faster. Once somebody has gotten started with drawing, they’ll soon feel that it turns into habit, as you might know developing a habit takes approximately 90 days. You will get blocks of drawing paper, possibly a sketchbook and carry them around wherever you go because it is simply fantastic.

My new online art classes

Please, enjoy the beautiful watercolor wash and black pen line art. I decided to share the overview since pen and watercolor art will be the subject of my first online downloadable art instruction classes.

Drawing and sketching with pen and watercolor wash is an excellent way to familiarize with painting techniques, color mixing, composition and watercolor as such.

For my art prints, please check out FAA:

Have a wonderful weekend!

41 Replies to “Sketching and drawing for ageless brain and memory”

    1. Thanks Lisa!
      I’m in a high risk group, therefore, I cannot restart real art classes, although, there have been so many requests. I will start with downloads and go from there.
      at the moment, the biggest problem is renovation. Landlord cannot put it off because the adjustments somebody has done to this place are in violation of fire code, so, it’s going to be a few tough weeks, and I’m not sure yet whether the dust and noise will prevent me from doing anything meaningful.
      I certainly hope, it won’t be too bad and I can paint and draw somewhere without being disturbed too much, but that’s not for sure.
      Have a good weekend!

    2. Inese,

      This pandemic has been difficult for us all. I am unable to teach in person also. I especially miss teaching creative writing at the senior center.

      I am developing an online course on a different topic, although it is a lot of work. The downloads is a good idea for you to get started. If you have the audience, go for it!

      Sounds like a good idea to do your work elsewhere, while the renovations take place. Take Care and enjoy your weekend as well.

      Many Blessings, Lisa

    3. I miss live classes also. I’ve been teaching for many years, decades, in fact, and it’s very clear that online cannot replace the direct live contact. Online is just a patch and requires a very devoted person who won’t give up after the first attempt.
      I know that any course is so much work.
      I hope your online course turns out well.
      The only place other than my studio which wall will be removed and placed back is outdoors in the backyard. So far, the weather is nice, but who knows.
      I can spend some time there, but serious work won’t happen most likely.
      Enjoy the weekend!

  1. An on-line course!!! This is exciting news, Inese and I look forward to finding out more details. Your article on brain function and memory is brilliant and one that I will be thinking about in the coming days. I appreciate your dedication to creativity and your encouragement of others to pursue an artistic journey. All the best, Rebecca

    1. Thanks very much!
      I’ve seen for many decades how this works, it really does.
      I have been trying to figure out why people are quite reluctant to the idea.
      I’m very worried about all kids who cannot even write manually any longer, and managing a pencil would replace that skill to some extent.
      We must replace anything we lose, and we’re losing a lot thanks to AI. AI progresses extremely swiftly, humans are already behind. We have to make use of a brain exercise every single day. Why not do it with pencil, pen and some watercolor? It’s difficult to get art supplies at the moment , but such painting really doesn’t require much.
      I’d jump straight on the downloadable class, but, unfortunately, I first have to survive renovation while staying in this place. Landlord cannot put it off, and that’s going to be a big test and slow me down. I hope for the best, but renovation doesn’t happen without, dust, dirts, noise and disturbance.
      Have a good weekend!

    2. I agree wholeheartedly – we must keep our minds and fingers working. I have even gone back to cursive writing this year. All the best through he renovations. Take care of yourself.

    3. That is great!
      I use simply Micropen brand because it’s easy. I had India ink, but it usually dried before I could use it up and I also didn’t have the ink pen like I had back in Europe.
      Oh my, it’s been so many years with pencil, I could never even list all posters, paintings and drawings I have ever done. By age of 14, I had approximately 400 good size drawings. I was mostly in posters of musicians and popular bands since we couldn’t buy anything of that type in Soviet Latvia.
      Have a good weekend!

    4. Very nice! Certainly, there are so many ways to implement our personal preferences in creation of art.

    1. Thanks! We are getting there, yes, the first leaves falling, but flowers still in bloom.
      It’s not that I’m very excited about the summer ending, but that’s just the natural cycle of nature.

  2. Love your paintings and drawings as always dear Inese 🙂 What you said about memory and brain function is true. Now a days, many young people show short-term memory and when asking them about their routine, could find they are more into mobile and internet and not even writing or drawing with hand. How are you doing? Howz the covid condition there?

    1. Thanks for asking and thanks for your comment! I’m in Ontario, Canada, and our numbers are low. Except, young people party and that can cause some problems. Kids will be starting school on Tuesday after Labour day, and there are lots of concerns how it’s going to be. It is still good to have real classes, I think people will be so fed up with the online stuff only very soon. Humans are supposed to socialize.
      I’m ok, too, and I’m used to be practically alone most of the time because that’s the way I can write, draw, paint and so on. I don’t feel that I’m missing something too much. I’m not sure what country you live in, but TV reported India had more than 80K new cases.
      We have to be very disciplined, although, it feels overwhelming at times.
      The bad news is I will have a renovation and landlord cannot put it off because the city demands updates. Updates involve removing and replacing walls in some rooms, including my studio, so, it will be tough to do anything meaningful.
      Stay safe!

    2. It’s really concern if schools are started. I’m in Kerala, India. Here cases are increasing day by day. We are in containment zone right now, but people are going out as usual wearing masks and using sanitizers. Social distancing is not practiced well and so contact cases are rising. People here too are fed up with restrictions. Schools won’t be started soon here due to increased cases, but in other states, school may start this month last. Seems like it takes more time to be under control here. Has your renovation started? May it come well for you. Stay safe. Take care.

    3. I’ve heard on TV you have lots of trouble.
      I practically do not go anywhere, so, somewhat safe.
      The renovation is such an abnormal hassle, that’s why I haven’t posted anything. My show is coming up and I cannot do anything yet, just 5 days left to take over all 65 artworks and it’s very annoying that I am so limited in space and movement because of all dust and dirts and noise. Hopefully, the renovation will be over next week.
      Thanks and you, too, stay safe!

  3. Agreed…
    Drawing aids learning abilities…
    It is easy to remember a drawing then a text..
    And drawing helps one in expressing what he or she may find difficult to convey otherwise .
    Stay blessed 🙏😇

    1. Thanks Krish!
      It does and to a big extent.
      Imbalance can cause all kinds of issues, but delegating so many of our brain functions to devices, is causing lots of issues. They won’t manifest right away, but in the long run for sure.
      Before COVID, I had students with autism spectrum disorder, and it was amazing what they could create following my lead.
      I think everybody would benefit from involvement in manual creation of art. There is already huge overuse of devices, why not to do drawing and painting manually without prints, edits and photos? It works, but the person who wants to do that needs to be determined and interested in the process.

    1. Thanks Gallivanta!
      It’s very beneficial and to start out we don’t need any skills. It suits any age and any physical or mental condition.

  4. Beautiful works, Inese. Drawing like any activity involving fingertips is very beneficial for the brain. Great to hear about your online classes. Best of luck!

    1. Thanks very much Inese! Long time no see, LOL.
      While I have started to create everything, this silly renovation will be big and annoying disturbance. I hope to work around it, but we’ll see.
      I hope you’re doing fine, it looks like you are not going back to Latvia.
      I haven’t been since mom’s funeral in Feb 2019.
      Who knows, maybe we are fine next year around this time.
      Have a good weekend!

    2. No Inese, it is almost a decade since I went to Latvia last time. I remember you wrote about your mother’s passing, but I wasn’t too active on WordPress since last spring. It was a challenging year, and it still is.
      Have a nice Sunday you too. Hope you are well.

    3. Oh, I see!
      I hope challenges are not health-related.
      I talk with my sister and daughter regularly, they are doing fine over there.
      I am, too, on and off, such times when it’s hard to know what we will have to do next.
      Have a nice Sunday also!

    1. Thanks! That’s the problem: most people want to be perfect right from the get-go. It simply cannot happen and so they give up the new thing before they have started.

  5. Oh, your art is lovely. I really love the strokes and colors you chose. Thank you for the tips you shared. Markus encourages me to try watercolor painting but I am so anxious about it!

    1. I think there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ve been doing both for a very long time: teaching and painting. I love drawing, always have, therefore, I want to implement nice lines with balanced colors.
      These are sketches from classes which I gave to teens and beginners. When I’m doing my own painting, I usually choose more complex subject. However, illustration type of pen and watercolor always looks great. The only way to learn is by starting doing it. Like I’m saying: focus should be on process, not on the first result. There are numerous things to master when it comes to classic painting which is pretty much dead nowadays since nobody wants to use values, volume, shadows, perspective and composition. I think, it’s now so that the less one knows about painting, the more chance they have to create some design. Most print sites sell exactly that: designs and one can rarely see paintings.
      Thanks for comment, good luck!

    1. Thanks! I appreciate that.
      I have a Facebook page and profile, but I’ve been very busy recently, and we had to go through a live-in renovation and that has set me back so much that I didn’t get a chance to post anything anywhere. I intent to very soon, maybe today.
      Have a good Sunday!

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