The Right Hand Has a Mind of its Own

I recently talked about “looseness” and how difficult it is for me to convey a sense of looseness when my natural tendency is to be “tight.” When I have consciously tried to “loosen up” (as I have sometimes been urged to do), the results are often just sloppy, not loose (which are not the same thing, though I think some people believe they are). It’s gotten easier over time, but it’s still not something that comes easily or naturally.

What I said above was all about my left hand. Last week, I observed something intriguing about my non-dominant right hand: It seems to be developing its own personality – one that is much more open to “looseness.” Looking for more media that would be friendly toward my weaker, clumsy hand, I tried using Prismacolor Art Stix – chunky, crayon-like sticks of pigment. Not only are they easier for my right hand to manipulate (just like big, fat crayons for preschoolers), they also demand a looser approach because fine marks and lines are impossible to make with them. And my right hand took to them like, well, like a preschooler to big, fat crayons (beginning with Day 165)!

My right hand could teach a few things to my left. In 30 days or so when this red notebook is full, I’ll switch back to my left hand for these daily drawings. We’ll see what the left has learned from the right.