One Crazy Horse to Ruin

 May 15, 2022

   One of the methods I use to attempt my best art is to intentionally set out to ruin something. In short, I try to trash one piece on purpose, just to get the desire to be perfect out of my system. It doesn't always work, but it often helps me get past the usual obstacles.

Drawing On The Right Side of The Brain

   When I was a freshman in the Fine Arts College at the University of Arizona (1965), two of our excellent drawing professors, Mr. Scott and Bruce McGrew, forced us to draw with the opposite hand, upside down (the subject, not the artist), and incredibly, with our toes. The goal was to break down our preconceived ideas of what something should look like which is primarily the function of the left, or, logical side of our brain. This led to what later became known as left-brain vs. right-brain thinking. As the theory goes (and not everybody buys it), the linear part of our head, the left, thinks it knows what a door knob looks like while the right side of our brain is more intuitive and sees things more holistically. So when I start out to ruin a painting, it really messes with the left side of my brain, as it should. 

The Big Picture

   And here is my mantra: draw what you see, not what you think you see. Put another way: we are born knowing, then we see. Put even another way, your left brain is good for tying your shoelaces, but not so good at seeing what a painter needs to see in order to create decent artwork.

   So, without further ado, here is my trash piece. 

The last of the Crazy Horses

Daily Whip Out:

"Capturing Crazy Horse #4"

   I can tell you one thing: my left brain had no idea what I was doing! My right brain was saying things like, "all in all, it's just another brick in the wall," and, "that's kind of an In-din design you got going there, keep doing that." And, for comparison, here's a rough sketch of where I actually thought this one would go.

Daily Whip Out Sketch:

"Dark Side of The Moon"

   So, in the end, it's all a blind romp and crap shoot and I enjoy the process and have zero idea of whether it connects with anyone, or even works.

"The key is to care, but not that much."

—Herbie Cohen