Category: random thoughts

 

My artist friend, Jen Molon, once told me that when drawing, I must beat my left brain. I must look at things with an artist’s eye. And I must draw what I see, not what I think. It sounds complicated but I just did that today by sketching this portrait upside down.

upside down drawing Paints and quills bohol bloggers collective

Upside down drawing shuts the thinker part of your brain. At first,  I was like, “wait, turn my left brain off? No way!” But later on, it made sense. Keeping your left brain functional while you’re at your Picasso mode defeats your artistic vision. Upside down drawing allows you to see just curves, shapes, lines, and their relativity, making the job easier. (It’s easier to draw lines, curves, and shapes than eyes, nose, and mouth, right?)

Upside down drawing also brings about a little surprise. Working with just your eyes and  hands doesn’t require as much effort as analyzing what you’re drawing. And when you turn your work up, voila!

I had a fun sketching today, probably because of that “what will it look like?” question I had which was quickly answered with a “we’ll see.” And while I was almost halfway done or so, I figured that turning off our brain and seeing things as they are without giving them any label at all make life simpler. And I have no idea why I thought of that when my left brain that analyzes was supposed to be turned off that time.

Now, it’s 4 AM. Can someone tell me how to turn my right brain off so I could get some sleep?

 

 

Upside Down Drawing To Shut The Brain

I broke the fish eye phone camera lens I just bought from Lazada. Though the online store has a warranty policy, I decided not to go through the task of getting in touch with them, packing up and returning the lens. I decided to play around with it. In my attempt to fix it myself, I’ve found some cool photo effects, so I decided not to put it together.

Paints and quills bohol bloggers collective bohol bloggers

paints and quills bohol bloggers collective bohol bloggers

paints and quills bohol bloggers bohol bloggers collective

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Finally, I think I’ve done the lens sequencing right. Is this the fish-eye lens effect?

Being broken doesn’t automatically mean being useless. And sometimes, a broken piece doesn’t need fixing. Sometimes, what’s needed is an open eye and a willingness to peer through a broken lens to see a different vision.

So, when it seems you’re broken into pieces, you can break down and dump yourself into the bait of depression, or you can break through and change the course of your perspective.

Visions Through A Broken Lens

Some friends asked me why I chose Paints And Quills for my domain name. And instead of disappointing them with an “I really have no idea…blah, blah…blah” answer which was the truth at that time, my usual reply was that those were the first words that came into my mind (yeah, after some six hours of sitting in front of a PC with a mental black out). Somehow, it was a safe answer as I didn’t have to deal with follow up questions.

But tonight, I’ve finally found the answer myself. Yey! Finally, my left brain has spoken. And here’s what she has come up with:

It was always the right hemisphere that ruled. And when the left brain got her chance to take control (thanks to the four dreadful, roller coaster years of Accounting classes), she shut the right down.

Oh, where am I? What it has got to do with the domain name baptism?

Well, maybe the right mind has risen for vengeance (no, no, no, I’m not thinking of a Game of Thrones episode), and my love for art and words prevails.

To make it simpler, here’s a super short poem and a blended photo-sketch all written, taken, drawn, and blended by meeeee. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Paints and quills

Your memories, I hold dear,

In to the clouds, they disappear.

Shall I go with them, too? 

Only if you’re there waiting for me 

On the other side.

– Eve Winters

On The Other Side