Monday, May 07, 2007

IF: Neighbour - This is my NEIGHBOURhood


In a recent post one of the visitors wondered what the result would be like if I tried sketching the same subject with both my right and left hand. So, yesterday, I sat on the steps of my apartment and sketched this scene. That is my neighbour walking...

I first sketched with my right hand (dominant hand) and then drew the same with my left. Dear viewers, I am eager to know which one of these sketches you like and why.

Update: The top one was done with my left hand.
I am clarifying because I see that my writing has been a bit misleading here (as I can see from the comments)

79 comments:

This is Dandu said...

your neighborhood lloks great. so does your sketch!

ElizT said...

I like the left-handed one; how about a pencil in each hand next time!

Greg Hartman said...

I think I like the second one down, though I like some of the looser aspects of the top sketch too.

Michelle Lana said...

Pretty cool-

ming said...

i like the movement and energy in the top sketch, the second is amazing for a left hand, but too still

° said...

i like the loosness of the top gives it an almost abtract feel and i like the more detailed one below.
i think both are good it just depends on wht it is u want ppl to see. actually im amazed that u can even draw that well with ur left, if i did it it look like, ok i wont go there.

Ian T. said...

Sketches of your neighbourhood is just right for this topic! The righthanded picture is cleaner and more linear, but I think I actually prefer something about the impressionistic nature of the lefthand picture. A remarkable feat!

Lauren Kate said...

Wow - fantastic work!
I couldn't choose between the two of them. I love the freeness of the top one, but the bottom one is just so beautiful. Great work!

Kstyles said...

Wow! Very detailed. You are so good to be able to draw with both hands...I think I told you that before. Nevertheless, nice work and thanks for stopping by.

Digital Scott's Illustrationblog said...

Cool experiment, and nice result! Great work!

Ujwala Prabhu said...

you seem to be ambidextrous :D both look good.

get zapped said...

This is so much fun! I like the top one, is is more free, light and open, like a neighbor should be. Nice work!

Anonymous said...

Such a beautiful lively line - I imagine your hand dancing across the paper. Wonderful!

Janice Ykema said...

I like the top one... the lines are looser.... the car at the bottom... the tree... seem more natural....

I think you dont rely so much on what you know instinctively with this one....

Twisselman said...

Clicked back and forth and forth and back between both enlargements, and I like the spontaneity of the left-handed one. Did you get your neighbor to walk past twice? Cool.

Anonymous said...

Wahou it's amazing !
I like both !
You're lucky to be able to draw with your two hands !
I love your style, so dynamic.

Liz Jones said...

Very good! I like them both-- I'm impressed with the quality from your non-dominant hand!

Curious Art said...

What an interesting exercise! Did you know that neuroscientists recommend non-dominant-hand drawing as a way to develop new neural pathways in the brain? I've heard it can even forestall dementia & aid in stroke recovery. So have you noticed any changes in your thinking patterns resulting from your recent practice?

The drawings are great by the way.

Arkonbey said...

I prefer the lower sketch. Not because the technique is tighter with more considered linework that still has great energy. I prefer it because the composition is better.

In the lower sketch, the tree is the primary focus because of its contrast and the shrubbery (?) near the roots are also dark and lead the eye to the walker. Then the car on the left comes into view and the eye drifts up, following the trees, but, finding little contrast works its way back to the tree.

The upper composition is not bad, but the blank area in the lower right and the distance between the right edge of the page and the tree are visual quicksand.

Still, better than I could do with my non-dominant. After a day of raquetball, a good friend and I would switch hands. It's not just the lack of coordination, but, man, your non-dominant arm gets tired quickly.

Andre Messier said...

Did you move between drawing the pictures? It looks like a slightly different perspective... almost like a stereogram.

I kinda like the left hand one because the angle of the road gives more "depth" to it...

gothicmaskarade said...

i love they way you used your line....it looks like one line all togeather...but you were prob. got in for that ^^; anyway it looks great live it!

Focus_ret said...

I like the top one better, because the bottom picture is so much darker on the right side that the balance gets destroyed. But I am still totally amazed that you can draw so well with either hand.

Jeffrey Morgan said...

I like the right handed one...I'm going to try this sometime with my students, should be a good exercise

Anonymous said...

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Tracy said...

They both look GREAT! Thanks for commenting on my art blog. :)

Manuela said...

I like the top one
Much more, is far more perspective and free,
the bottom one is more studied, and flat!

but compliments 'cause I can't draw with both hands :D

Jo said...

Can't really say which one is good. Both looks good. The details of the tree is more visible in the second pic. But both are awesome! I never knew you can sketch this good with left hand. :-) Amazing!

EPOS Inc. said...

great sketches...such a breathe of fresh air!

Unknown said...

I like the top one best, sure there is more detail in the bottom one but using your non-dominant hand to sketch forced your brain to use the left and right side...very smart.

MiKa Art said...

Wow, I had no idea which one was the left hand... do you do it at same time as right hand? (I mean, put down two papers for right hand and left hand type of setting? That will be very productive!)

Tom J. Byrne said...

Hi
I really like both of them. I'm interested in the effects that left and right hand drawings have on the persons experience of what they are seeing and how they see. There really isn't a hell of a lot of dofference between the two hands except for the line quality and the obvious fact that one hand has more experience. Given time I think that you could paint and draw equally well with both and that in the process you would change the way you see and work.

Shano said...

Wow! Fabulous. I can't even hold a pencil with my left hand! I like the left because it is a little more loose. Love both!

mike r baker said...

I like both but I think I like the left-handed one better. The right-handed one looks more strict, less free. The left-handed one has more essential details, less unnecessary ones.

studio lolo said...

Both hands! You talented guy, you! I like the looser one as well...it's more spontaneous feeling. The bottom one is well drawn but not as interesting. Great job altogether :)

Anonymous said...

This is awesome! I am impressed! Maybe I should practice this!

Joy Eliz said...

Wow - you're ambidextrous!! I like the top... the scene is in movement. Great illo!

imwithsully said...

I like the 2nd one because I can see the expression on her face. This was a great exercise.

Juan Carlos Hernández said...

Arvindh

veo que has entendido perfectamente mi mensaje. Gracias por tu comentario.

Ya había visitado anteriormente tu blog y me habían gustando mucho tus dibujos por su frescura.

Un saludo

Arvindh

I see that you have understood perfectly my message. Thank you for your commentary.

I aready had visited previously your blog and I was pleasing very much your drawings for his freshness.

A greeting

JO said...

Very nice sketches, very loose and expressive.

georg said...

Exciting experiment. I can't say, which of them I like most - I like both. There are a difference -

It's amazing, you can draw with both left and right - have you exercised your left?

Anonymous said...

I like both. Amazing that you can draw with 2 hands.

The Right hand one is more detailed with more points of interest but the left hand one is looser and more fun to try and read.

Thanks for the comments by the way.

bookbabie said...

great exercise, I like them both:)

Anonymous said...

42 comments? (-: amazing! Hello Arvindh, these two images are really nice. One week ago I made a visit to your blog and to the other links...and so, I made a wonderfull visit to India, to new images and to very nice drawings!
(-:
Keep going.
Thanks for your comments, they are short but very nice. Perhaps because I`m just a person that likes to draw - with no technique -all the comments are very well received!(-:

Joana
www.flickr.com/photos/jjjoana

Anonymous said...

Thanks for leaving the comment on my blog. Lovely work you have here. So much life in all of your work. Very loose and very cool!

//Pernille said...

Wau! You are realy good, I love your drawings, they are exellent. I can't chose left or right hand drawing, I like them both. I just wish I drew just as good with my left hand! Take care - Pernille

Kay Aker said...

Lovely feel to these sketches, both left and right!

HARDWAX said...

Even though the left handed version is more chaotic , I'm enjoying it as much as the right handed piece. Beautiful and interesting post!

Honor said...

hmmm... I prefer the left sketch for its looseness. Although both are great.

Anonymous said...

I wish I had your neighborhood,It's lovely
your drawing is so good
beautiful lines

Giggles said...

I prefer the second one! Seems to be more depth differential! It comes off as a completely different perspective! The tree in the right handed piece is vivid in comparison Both are lovely and what an interesting way to present these pictures. Good job!

valerie walsh said...

Extraordinary idea and execution! I think they both are magnificent and I would never be able to do this! Awesome!

Mike said...

Great work, I like the bottom one slightly better, but I only say that because you asked that we pick one. They are both very good. I like to use both hands on a single drawing and rotate them. When you work with chalk or charcoal it helps you from getting your hands dirty so they dont smear your drawing. Very nice job and same goes for your other pictures.

pati said...

Wow! this idea is so cool that I have to try it out sometime... I love the lefty one, because it inspires me freedom.

ELLA ELVIANA said...

i like the bottom one, the one with your right hand. the details are better and the lines are stronger. anyhow, both are great since i cant draw with my left hand myself! :-/

AndyDoodler said...

Again - looks ambidextrous- both well done! Wouldn't guess one is from non-dom hand.
Reminds me of Vincent van Gogh's sketches.

emilayusof said...

Wow! You're ambidextrous! Cool! Nice drawings.

Suji said...

Wow, I like both of them. Its amazing that you can draw so well with both hands. Wish I could sketch atleast 10% as well as ur left hand. With as much practice as ur right hand, ur left hand would probably turn out to be better than ur right hand...lol.

And your neighborhood is really cool.

Anonymous said...

Great, the talent of drawing with both right and left...interesting to see the degree of looseness affected by changing hands. Yours seems to be a tranquil, easy neighborhood - nice work!

Unknown said...

What a neat experiment! And both sketches are interesting. I think I like the second one best though...

I like your neighborhood, it looks nicer then mine.

Rodrigo Melo said...

Deu até vontade de conhecer sua vizinhança!
Muito bom!
parabéns

Dehart Street said...

oh god, for me, hands down, your left hand. ... other one, dominant hand is good too, but your lefty takes on a different spirit. I so much prefer it. I wouldnt tell you so if i didnt think so. yes, left hand. :)

Christine said...

What an interesting experiment. I wonder how many of us will be trying this in the future...

I like both sketches, but I prefer the bottom one, since the tree branches seem more balanced and the foreground tree has more interest. But they're both really interesting to view.

isay said...

hi! i like both of your drawings. actually, you have great hands that can draw the same thing....the only difference is that with your dominant hand, i can see that it was more relaxed and you have drawn more-- or a bit more detailed than the first one....

i have done this before but only to continue one drawing--you maybe is more patient than me.

JC said...

I love the idea of showing both drawings together, a display that is a creative work of art in itself. Kind of like showing how 2 different people can have slightly different takes on the same subject.

(but if I had to choose, I like the left-handed one better)

biteyourowntail said...

Well I'm glad I came over...

without even reading your post I liked the top one best, it has more movement and the perspective is sharper (Don't think that's the word I want) - theres more depth to the image. In the second one the road appears to disappear out of the right hand side of the frame which flattens everything. Great sketches, though both of them.

Anonymous said...

I prefer the left hand one. Even though the right hand one draws you right into the picture [through the road], the left hand drawing is far more peaceful for some reason . I think this is an absolutely amazing feat! Great inspiration, Arvind!!

Catalina Alvarez said...

My favorite is the second one.
Movement, semplicity and softness.
Cata.

Sycla said...

The idea to draw with each hand was an excellent one. And both sketches are testaments to your talent! Nice work with both.

steve said...

Great work and idea! Apparantly, sketching, and doing more activity in general, using your less dominant hand makes you smarter!

andrea said...

What a great idea for an experiment! They both have their merits.

platitudinal said...

I’ve enjoyed my stay at your blog. Thank you for sharing your art, they’re amazing. As to the answer to your question, I cannot decide. I suppose I’m just too awed that you sketched the drawings with your dominant and non-dominant hand, and I’m just absolutely dazzled by the fact :)

ming said...

72 comments! wow! this is a crowded neighbourhood! :)

zime said...

Thanks for stopping by and posting a comment. You have very nice illustrations here...

constance wong said...

wonderful drawings arvindh!

Tracy said...

I'm really impressed with your skill. :)

Natura said...

Very nice drawing!

trowbridge chronicles said...

I can't believe that you can draw that well with either hand. I wouldn't even entertain the idea of trying drawing with my left hand. Both drawings are beautiful.

Willie Baronet said...

I like the top one best, though they are both good. What a great exercise!

Anil P said...

The one on the top. Larger perspective that's why.