There are two sides of the brain. The “right side” is the more intuitive, feeling side. The “left side” is the planning, analytical side. We need both sides in our art making. We need to learn how to switch back and forth between the two again and again in our art making. This is learned by first recognizing the kind of questions and feelings these two sides of your brain create for us.

Pay attention to how it feels when you’re painting intuitively. Once you have done this for awhile it becomes important to actually analyze and decide whether the resulting marks are something you want in the work or not. “Do I keep them? Do I change them? How can I change them if needed at this point?” These set of questions are more “left brain.” You can try and analyze things in your work for a while, and even make some calculated adjustments. However, you don’t want to stay in your “left brain” mindset as this becomes tiring. You need to switch back over to the “right side,” making your art without thinking, just going on intuition.

This back and forth between left and right is the necessary dance of the creative process. Interestingly, these two modes of thinking, left and right, are opposites. The kinds of marks and changes these two states of thinking create are opposite from one another and as a result enhance each other. Everyone’s left or right side is stronger depending on who you are, but it is important to remember that you need to develop both mental states regardless of your preference. We need all of you in your art, and that includes both mental sides.