Upside Down Drawing

Upside down drawing is a fascinating study of learning to see the way an artist sees, while not actually identifying what you are depicting or seeing.

When I was learning to draw, one of the things I enjoyed the most was the different methods available for trainee artists. Nothing gave me more of a thrill than to finish up with a good reproduction when (in my heart) I thought I couldn't draw.

In the Betty Edwards art book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Betty provides an upside down Pablo Picasso sketch of the 'Portrait of Igor Stravinsky.'

The image on the right is my first attempt at copying that sketch upside down. Of course, I have turned it right side up for viewing.

It's not correct in proportion but, I can tell you, I was over the moon with the outcome of this exercise! Remember, at that time, I thought I'd never be able to draw properly.

Author Betty wisely chose the Picasso drawing because all the lines join together and they form a type of jigsaw puzzle.

It was the first upside down drawing that I ever did and not only did I enjoy it, but the encouragement I derived from this exercise ultimately introduced this artistic hobby into my life.

Before You Start

It really helps to place a border on your paper with the same measurements as the picture so do this one step before you begin.

When you start copying, focus only on lines and their direction or angle. It's your choice where you start so choose top or bottom whichever is your preference.

Keep your mind purposely blank and refuse to try to identify what you are portraying.

When you concentrate on the distance of the lines to the border and their relation to each other, the image develops by itself. It's remarkable, really.

Negative space automatically plays a part because of the squares and rectangles that are present in the picture and you can choose to draw that shape rather than the lines of the subject.

Negative space is the area around the object that you are interested in depicting.

I didn't do that, I thought it was easier to just focus on the line with no other distractions.

The Geisha Girl drawing is one that I have practiced with - I always look for images with simple lines so I can turn it upside down and see what I produce.

When I finished this upside down drawing, I turned my paper the right way up. Ok, my interpretation isn't great but it resembles the original sketch! It is still exciting!

At a time when I seriously doubted I'd ever be able to draw, the upside down drawing experiment was the starting point of my artistic adventure. Why? Well, it gave me the confidence that I needed to keep going and experimenting.

If I happened to produce a failure, I wasn't deterred by that because I knew I could draw -- I had already proven it with the Pablo Picasso experiment above! You can do this too, try it for yourself.

What is the purpose of Upside Down Drawing?

The purpose of this kind of practice is to force your left (thinking) side of the brain to give up identifying what you draw.

So, even if you have a little voice that tells you the name of features or things, - ignore it! Instead, focus on a specific line and concentrate on its direction and where it lies in relation to the lines around it.

I do have trouble with matching things up as I come to the end of the drawing because it is obviously out of proportion. That doesn't matter, just connect it all as best as you can because the benefit remains.