When Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was first published in 1979, it hit the New York Times bestseller list within two weeks and stayed there for more than a year. In 1989, when Dr. Betty Edwards revised the book, it went straight to the Times list again. Now Dr. Edwards celebrates the twentieth anniversary of her classic book with a second revised edition.

Over the last decade, Dr. Edwards has refined her material through teaching hundreds of workshops and seminars. Truly The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, this edition includes:

• the very latest developments in brain research
• new material on using drawing techniques in the corporate world and in education
• instruction on self-expression through drawing
• an updated section on using color
• detailed information on using the five basic skills of drawing for problem solving

Translated into thirteen languages, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is the world's most widely used drawing-instruction guide. People from just about every walk of life—artists, students, corporate executives, architects, real estate agents, designers, engineers—have applied its revolutionary approach to problem solving. The Los Angeles Times said it best: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is "not only a book about drawing, it is a book about living. This brilliant approach to the teaching of drawing . . . should not be dismissed as a mere text. It emancipates."

There are too many mechanical aids required in the new edition, and the mechanics of their application is poorly and vaguely explained, which will discourage some people. My general feeling is also that the author is stretching to revitalize the work and, in the process, has weakened its impact.

Though I find her work valuable and helpful, I'm distracted by the lengthly and repetitious discussions about the need to silence the left brain and to allow the right brain to function. A great deal of verbiage could have been saved if most of this was edited out and replaced by a short phrase to simply remind the reader of this necessity.

However, having said these things, let me also say that I have found the book to be valuable and helpful in my own efforts to gain solid drawing skills that should allow me to render better value sketches before I start my watercolors.

61 of 63 found the following review helpful:


Excellent Beginner's Drawing Book  Jan 22, 2002
Seems to be a lot of reviews here that hate Edwards and a lot that love her. I think this is a great book, but only for getting your drawing skills up to a certain level of competency. I am glad I read the book and would recommend it to anyone like me.

I took up the pencil about two months ago and have never had any drawing instruction previously. After spending about three weeks with her book, practicing 2-3 hours a day, I am now at a skill level where I feel comfortable (dare I say proud) to show my drawings to my friends. I am no longer afraid (out of embarrassment) to sign up for classes with the Art Students' League.

That is what Edwards' book will do for you. It will not make you an artist; it will teach you a skill, quickly. I don't want to get dragged into who is and who is not an artist, but consider this book more like how to ride a bike, not on how to be a cyclist.

Regarding the two mind theory, I say skim through all of the bits about the brain, but don't skip it. Whether or not it is proven is unimportant. The concept of two brains is proven as an effective model for teaching drawing, and that is all that is important.

40 of 40 found the following review helpful:


Ideal for those with no confidence  Jan 22, 2003 By c. p.
I can understand why some previous reviewers who already have developed skills in drawing would see this book as overrated but I think that it is heavily aimed at those who believe that they can't draw and who are radically unsure of how to begin. My own experience was that this book debunked some of my core beliefs about drawing: I can't draw because I don't have the manual skill; people who can draw are dismissive of those who are not as able as them; there is no use in trying if I can't become a brilliant artist; etc, etc.

This book made me realise for the first time, despite attending art classes for many years at school, that drawing well is not about the dexterity of your hand but about how you see things, the approach you take to looking at an object and how you translate that to the page. Not having a scientific background, I am not able to judge the accuracy of Edwards's use of right/left brain theory but in some ways the 'truth' of it is irrelevant. What is important is that you recieve the confidence to give it a go and to persist, and not be intimidated by those more advanced than you. Subjectively, I have found that time spent drawing is a very different experience to my usual language based pursuits, and I do feel that I'm stretching hitherto unused faculties, whatever side of the brain they are on.

I would strongly recommend this book to any beginners interested in improving their ability to draw what they see. Practising this is no less of an artistic endeavour than any other - the element of originality and self-expression exists in everyone's unique way of seeing and interpreting things around them, This book simply helps you to pay more attention.

100 of 108 found the following review helpful:


This is absolutely the best book on drawing in print  Jan 07, 2000
I have a degree in commercial art and learned more about drawing from this book than I did in four years of undergraduate instruction. If you practice everyday what Ms. Edwards teaches you will be drawing as good as any professional artist in six months. This really is the best book on drawing ever published!

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