While we have a natural tendency towards one way of thinking, the two sides of our brain work together in our everyday lives. The right brain of the brain focuses on the visual, and processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous way, looking first at the whole picture then the details. The focus of the left brain is verbal, processing information in an analytical and sequential way, looking first at the pieces then putting them together to get the whole.

In Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Betty Edwards quotes psychologist David Galin's favourite example of how we use our right brain when something becomes too difficult to describe something verbally: "Try to describe a spiral staircase without making a spiral gesture." When it comes to painting and drawing, it's worth trying to shelve the more analytical side of your thinking and 'go with the flow' on the right side.

If you're interested in finding out more about Right Brain / Left Brain Theory , here an easy-to-understand explanation of its origins and how it's relevant to painters. You will probably also enjoy giving this Right Brain Exercise for Artists: Taking a Line for a Walk a try, and testing whether your right brain or left brain is dominant with the Right Brain / Left Brain Quiz.