Saturday, June 30, 2012


'quiet, pale girl with a green hat' ~ albrecht durer watercolor pencils and gouache in my daily book

i painted 'quiet, pale girl with a green hat' for norma's drawing challenge, which was to draw something with your nondominant hand.    well, ya know i love to do that...

i was going to post more pics of nondominant hand drawings (per norma's hint), but i decided that i didn't need to do that because you can click on any post before 2012 if you want to see more.

'pale girl with wings' ~ watercolors, albrecht durer watercolor pencils, and white signo pen in my daily book

(these pale girls are hard to photograph)

'pale girl with wings' is on the opposite page, and i drew here with my dominant (right) hand.  i thought i'd draw a similar kind of face with each hand and see how they compared.  i like the green hat girl the most, but then again it's hard to say because i was feeling completely different when i drew them.

   sometimes when i'm reading a post by someone who's drawing with their nondominant hand, i get the impression that they think it has to be a wild, assymetrical drawing that they can't revise or that they have no control over.   i've never seen it that way...  i erase and am just as particular about getting things the way i want no matter which hand i'm drawing with. the thing that's most helpful for me (when drawing with my left hand) is to have my (left) forearm resting on something.  if i don't do that it gets pretty crazy...

apparently norma is ambidextrous because her drawing is truly stunning.

* * *

"Paint as you like and die happy."

~ Henry Miller

23 comments:

  1. Lynn, I love them both :-).xoxo

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  2. I meant Lynne, I just have not woke up yet :-).xoxo

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  3. Nondominant art is amazing. I have yet to give it a try. Your girls are so sweet. I like the face of the first one best and the dress on the second best. Norma's bird was very lovely, you are right!

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  4. these lassies are so fragile, transparent they feel like they will lift off the page and fly away...barely there but very present.

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  5. YOU are a very funny girl; I mean woman, artist, friend. Thank you for your compliment. I tried non-dominant hand drawing because of you. And only just recently so it's been a bit of a ride I must say and so twice recently, I've offered non-dominant drawings to the challenge group I love, and it creates quite a stir. And so I thank you for creating a stir Lynne--in myself and in others. You know I adore your art to bits. I hope everyone will scroll to your previous posts and drink in deeply...the deliciousness that is your art. Love you! Norma, xo

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  6. Hey Lynne
    Awesome, I love what you shared about 'tweaking' non dominant hand drawings, I always felt a little guilty when I did that but I felt like things need a little bit of shoring up to satisfy my expectations of what was ending up on the paper, I feel so much better now that I know you do this as well and I'm not committing some unforgivable crime against creativitiy ;) your girls made me smile today and take a little gentler path into the day.

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  7. Lynne, your drawings are soft and dreamlike. Lovely.
    I often use my non-dominant hand and find it frees my brain from the critical voice. Happy weekend to you! xo

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  8. Great post, Lynne! :]
    I strongly believe in, creating the kind of art, "seen my the artist's eye and getting the story told our way... no matter what!" :]
    If this means tons of pencil marks, endless amounts of erasing, and remixing paint a thousand times, so be it. In either left or right hand.(LOL)
    Adore your "pale girls", they are so softly spoken for... (sigh)
    Take care.

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  9. Both are wonderful in their gentle paleness. I love the quirky green hat on your nondominant hand girl. I knitted one like that (in stripes) for my nephew when he was a toddler...he's now nearly fifteen!
    I might have to knit one for myself. I love that style. At the moment I am knitting fingerless gloves. They will be handy at the computer on these cold mornings.
    Love the quote!

    Jacky xox

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  10. I love the quiet, pale girl.

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  11. Hi Lynne, your two new paintings are beautiful, pale but NOT insignificent. Love their long necks and pretty dresses. What a great quote from Henry Miller! ox

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  12. i love green hat girl her expression i think she likes her hat and the girl with wings is delightful i think she likes her dress lol always loved that HM quote and love Norma's bird too...

    hugz bev

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  13. I think you have captured the way I feel today in the pale girl with the green hat, just a little wistful and worn.

    deliciously soulful faces as always. I love the gentleness of these faintly coloured women. tiny clouds of beauty and peace touched with a delicate kiss of what it means to be human.

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  14. pale, quiet girls - would never seek to dominate and yet I find myself thinking and thinking of them. xxoo, sus

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  15. this is really interesting what you are saying. for, i indeed let my hand move freely, too scared to even try something more real, or true even.
    your two figures are twins! that's amazing! wow.
    n♥

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  16. beautiful soft drawings
    I can hardly see any difference
    but, do I have to?....

    I like what you are saying
    I tried the best
    and yes, like you
    I let my arm rest on something
    I loved this challenge

    Patrice A.

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  17. Yes Lynne this is an interesting post,i never got the instruction to draw with my non-dominant hand and never tried it myself either(something to think about)

    your work, both beautiful and again giving me the feeling i'm pulled inward the painting more then the painting is coming towards me and i like that sensation, x

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  18. she's very delicate
    wonderful hat.

    your T had an image of Edith Sitwell
    earlier, and i found one too--doesn't Edith S have such a strange face? I don't know how to describe it.

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  19. Edith S. wrote visual paintings in her poetry. I've often thought that it would be something to just sit with her large outpouring of words...and draw what they make me feel. GRAND. *smiles* Norma

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  20. Dear Lynne,
    your left and right hand painted girls are twins! Wonderful.
    Even your words...
    and Henry Miller's. Thank you!

    xAriane.

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  21. This post had me smiling because I know how often you actually do work with your non-dominant hand!

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  22. :) I love them both but the green hat girl has a little magic I think. Sometimes I want the unrestrained freedom of non dominant hand wildness, but I use my non-dominant hand in a more controlled way more often than not.

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