Drawing Time

Right now I am working very hard on establishing myself as a professional writer, and I am also reading a lot, because there are a lot of things I want to know.

Reading and writing are both things I enjoy, but there are times when it gets fatiguing. I am on vacation this week. I have not yet had a vacation where writing was a real option when traveling, though it could still happen. I have had many vacations where I have taken along multiple books, and made progress there. However, this week I am doing neither.Instead I am going to take along some paper and pencils and do some sketching.

When I decided to start drawing, one thing that I felt instinctively is that there was a different kind of energy to it, and that it was a good thing in my life. Lately that has been reinforced.

Part of that has come from recently finishing Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. The introduction to the fourth edition spends a fair amount of time going over the left and brain right functions, and how while it is easy for the left brain to dominate there are valuable things that we get from the right brain. The book focuses on how to bring the right side to the forefront, and that is a valuable thing.

The other part came from an article I read recently:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/coloring-for-stress_n_5975832.html

It turns out that coloring helps the right and left hemispheres work well, because it combines the logical activity of filling in spaces with the creative activity of choosing colors. Also, it is relaxing.

So, I think I am making good vacation choices here. There are a lot of activities that children are instinctively drawn to that adults give up, and that's a mistake.

Have a good week!