Customer Reviews

Drawing on the Artist Within

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am one of the biggest fans of Betty Edwards' work, having learned to draw in five days by the "Right Brain" method. I have found the "Artist Within" book less helpful than the others, however. In it, Edwards uses many of the same drawing approaches (exercises that I love and which have made all the difference to me) as "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," but now she applies them to creative problem solving.

I agree completely with her premises and support the approach. On the other hand, as a book, this one is less helpful than the original precisely because it reuses so much of the same material. I would have liked more theory and exploration of just how learning to draw makes a difference in other parts of one's life.

So, I'm not sure I'd recommend this book wholeheartedly, unless you just can't get enough of the "Right Brain" drawing approach. Get "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," first. Then decide if you want more elaboration with a different spin.

One reviewer claims this book turned him into an excellent artist and now he can draw like a Da Vinci. If this is what you expect, it's cheaper and easier to close your eyes and make three wishes and maybe they'll come true. In order to draw like the great masters you need to draw and draw and practice for years and for years, but still there is no guarantee you will ever come close to a genius like Da Vinci. But even if you just want to draw like a professional you still need years and years of practice and HARD work. This book is for those who are looking for methods to tap their creativity and as a result draw the way they actually see things and not the way they think they see things. The results of the people who couldn't draw at all are remarkable compared to their ability before. For a person who can't swim, learning to slowly move in the water and manage an old lady's breaststroke is a big achievement, but that doesn't make him an olympic swimmer. I don't think this books intends to make a professional artist out of you, it just wants to show you ways to be more creative no matter what profession you do. There is no book that will make an artist out of you in 30 days. There are no short-cuts and those who don't believe it, dream on. Don't get me wrong, this is definately a good book and even Da Vinci would have taken a look at it. You will improve your drawing ability with Betty Edward's methods. Just stay realistic. If you then really want to draw professionally after you've achieved some basic skills with this book, go on to life drawing classes. The only "trick" there is to good drawing, is drawing drawing drawing. Maybe after your first 10 000 bad drawings, you'll start making your first good ones, but don't worry, you will and this book is a good starter.

This is a book that will change your life. The brilliant Betty Edwards has given us a way to access that creativity that is within each of us. This book, in tandem with her groundbreaking "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," are perhaps two of the most influential books of their time.

This book is the sequel to Betty Edwards brilliant "Drawing on the right side of the brain", but it does contain most of the material in the other title (except for the section on colour) and adds to it a lot of material on creativity and problem solving through drawing. Mrs Edwards method is incredible (I am the one who reviewed the other book as "Took me from stick men to portraits in three days"). If this book included the color section as well it would be perfect.

This book took me from an average artist to an excellent artist. I can now draw portraits like a DaVinci. I now have a portfolio that I'm proud of. It taught me how to look with an "eye" of an artist, and I would recomend it to anyone who wishes to improve their ability to draw. There are lessons that teach you how to experss your feeling in your art, no matter what the medium.

I read this book as an optional "Directed Reading" for a course in Creative Problem-Solving with the University of Oklahoma. It is ironic that I had just completed all six of Frank Herbert's Dune novels just before beginning Drawing with all its exercises. My first thought was, "This is truly 'BeneGesserit' stuff!" The author guides the reader into total participation with the material and helps one to coax that much-suppressed "right brain" mode of perception and comprehension into awareness--and it is truly revelatory of the richness of one's immediate world which normally remains unexplored. Amazing it is, too, how one's skill in writing in images (i.e., drawing) improves with full interaction with the book. This is a good read, one which I suggest for those who would like to increase their awareness of the world around them and who would like to recapture some of the childlike wonder at the universe.

This is more than a book about drawing. It is a book about the creative process and techniques to tap into one's creative source. They work, and Dr. Edwards gives ample examples and exercises to get her points across. For me, it has been a breakthrough book.

This book is an ABSOLUTE MUST for anyone. I am primarly interested in engineering and mathematics, but I also am "hybridizeing" my modes of thought, to "analytically creative", and "creatively analytical".

This book has helped me, as has its sequel "Drawing on the Artist Within" to think creatively.

I would recomend this to anyone, weather an artistic mathematician, or a matheamatical artist.

This book is more for corporate executive types who think 'being creative' is doodling on a notepad for 5 minutes. *Those* dudes need to explore their inner artist a little more, for sure. If you're in a creative block, or wanting to learn how to draw, there are much better resources out there to help you out. You really don't need this book, as it will be a waste of time and keep you from actually making art!

Also, regarding the author: Betty Edwards seems to have over-analyzed the right-brain/left-brain system - something the left-brain would be in control of, according to her teachings. She was defeating her purpose by writing a book about the method, since people must experience, firsthand, the ecstasy of hitting 'the zone' when making something. Analyzing it and taking credit for such a natural gift from God is, to me, ridiculous.

NOT ONLY DOES THIS BOOK OVERLAP, I FOUND IT INSULTING TO READ! I WAS SO BORED OF THE DRAWINGS AND OVER AND OVER EXPLANATIONS OF THEM THAT I COULDN'T FINISH THE BOOK. THAT WAS TOO MUCH REALLY!! NO THEORY OR ANY BREAKTHROUGH KNOWLEDGE WHAT SO EVER.