EXPERIENCE

I have been travelling in North America including a wonderful 2-day train journey through the Canadian Rockies. Whilst on the train passing beautiful mountainous scenery, I decided to sketch with my non-dominant (left) hand.

Why use my non-dominant hand? Reasons were:

– I have been experimenting with drawing with my left hand recently and I have found it a rewarding experience.

– I was sketching live on the go and I had to sketch quickly as the train was passing through the scenery. I felt that using my right hand would be too slow as I would be prone to agonising or perfecting the drawings which would not be enjoyable.

– I really wanted to explore drawing with my non-dominant hand as a way to loosen up and free my mind.

A Pilot fine tip drawing pen was used with a Seawhite concertina sketchbook for live sketching on the go. Below is the outcome:

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REFLECTIONS

I thoroughly enjoyed doing these sketches. Doing quick sketches with my left hand meant I didn’t have time to think or overthink which I am prone to doing with my dominant right hand. As a result, I feel my mark making was much more free than usual and I like the effect.

I enjoyed it so much that I kept drawing and didn’t want to stop. I also gained much confidence and I will not hesitate to draw with my non-dominant hand again. In fact, I prefer it.

LEARNING

I think I prefer this way of drawing because:

– I am prone to seeking perfection when drawing with my dominant hand and often over work a drawing, or feel disappointed with the outcome.

– I have little expectations when drawing with my non-dominant hand and in the case of these mountains, I felt pleasantly surprised and positive about the outcomes. I enjoyed the experience.

So the learning here is to step out of my comfort zone and explore new ways of making. Just explore without the shackles of expectations to free the mind. The outcome could be a positive surprise.

NEXT STEPS

Do more non-dominant hand drawing just for enjoyment and to exercise freeing of the mind.

Try non-dominant hand painting, especially with Chinese brush painting. Just try to see what happens.

UPDATE

Below is my first attempt at non-dominant hand painting – Chinese brush painting with ink:

REFLECTIONS

The painting was started quickly and spontaneously, similar to the drawings that I did. But then I went onto touching it up wanting to improve it. So I was starting to use my non-dominant hand like my dominant hand. Meaning that I’m introducing the mental-barriers from my right hand to the left which would defeat the purpose of this exploration because my objective was to free my mind. So need to think through how to work differently with my left hand, otherwise, I might as well just paint with my right hand!