Doodling is something we all do, often when we are bored or our conscious mind is half-engaged in something. For me it is when I’m talking on the phone. I often find that a doodle starts as a response to a mark on a page.
Automatic drawing is to draw with no plan or conscious control and is a surrealist approach. When I did the blind contour drawing with my left hand it was much looser than with my right hand. Using my non-dominant hand is a good way to relinquish conscious control over the pencil.
Gather Materials:
- an artist’s journal, unlined notebook, or piece of paper
- pencil of your choice
- listen to 5 minute long song
Today’s Exercise
Doodling with my Non-dominant Hand
- Listen to a song that is about 5 minutes in length
- Sit comfortably with your pencil and sketchbook in front of you.
- Adopt the automatic drawing approach: begin by putting yourself in a receptive frame of mind.
- Take your pencil in your non-dominant hand and make a mark without thinking
- Continue to respond to the mark—avoid conscious control over the image
Reflections on the Exercise
- Music helps make the exercise automatic as I just move and respond to the tempo of the song
- My left hand feels stiff, I have little control
- There are a lot of continuous lines… this shows I was flowing with the music
- It’s hard to let go of outcome when I know that I’ll scan this in and others may see it
- The result is just a mess but this isn’t about making great art