I would often hear about ‘perspective’ when drawing, but I remember the first time that I was introduced to the concept of ‘perception’ as it pertains to art. I was in high school and had signed up for a class with a local artist who provided instruction in oil painting, watercolor, pencil, and several other mediums. In one particular class, our instructor had us paint a picture of another portrait, however we had to position it upside-down to paint it.

Years later, during my last semester of college, I was fortunate enough to study Italian art, language, and culture in Italy. It was in one of my oil painting classes that I witnessed the concept of perception once again. Our assignment was to paint a live model but by using a subtracting technique. We began by painting the entire surface with a darker color, such as burnt Sienna, cobalt, or onyx. Since oil paint takes quite a bit of time to dry, it was a perfect medium for this project. When the canvas was covered with the dark, slow-drying pigment, we were instructed to un-paint the model by removing paint from the canvas.

After we finished our paintings, we were asked to line our paintings up side-by-side for review and discussion. What intrigued me the most wasn't the varying degrees of talent among each student, but the unique interpretation of the model in each painting. One painting in particular stood out from the rest. In that painting, the model was represented with a particularly wide forehead and a very narrow jaw. When the instructor picked the young man who was responsible for the painting from the crowd of students, it became obvious to us all that the student’s painting looked more like himself than the model.

I realized then that our perceptions are often a result of our unconscious manifestation of awareness - in other words, what we are familiar with or what we know rather than what we see. In this case, the student may not have been focused or concentrating on what he was doing, so he may have unintentionally filled in the blanks with what he was familiar with to complete the project. Isn’t that fascinating?

Years later, I came across a book by Carl Purcell, Drawing with Your Artist's Brain. In it, he perfectly explains how our brain processes visual information and how this process can affect our art:

“Your brain processes visual information entering through your eyes in two distinctly different ways: spatially and intellectually. The first and faster is the spatial process. Its primary function is to keep you informed about the constantly changing space around you by recording where and how big things are. It perceives shapes and spaces, dark and light patterns, vertical and horizontal orientation, size relationships and the relative locations of shapes.

The spatial part of your brain does not identify these as trees, cars and people; that kind of identification comes later. All of this is done on autopilot, just at the threshold of your consciousness. When you parallel park a car or walk through a crowded mall, you use this spatial tool. Its primary job is to navigate you through space safely.

The analytical or intellectual portion of the brain processes the spatial information not as visual images, but as data. When you identify the shapes, you are seeing as trees, cars, people and so on, you are using the intellectual brain. This is the right tool for just about every other conscious activity of your life. But when you use this part of your brain to draw, the results are disastrous. It first translates the visual information it has received from the spatial brain into data, then creates a simplified visual symbol to stand for the information.”

Upon further exploration, I discovered research by Richard Sperry on cerebral organization and behavior, which suggests that the brain operates like two separate entities; the left hemisphere is dominant for analytical and verbal tasks while the right is dominant for spatial and creative function. However, subsequent studies have challenged the concept of strict hemispheric dominance. Scholars like Schiferl have highlighted that while certain tasks may engage specific brain regions, the idea of one hemisphere dominating over the other may not be as valid as previously thought.

Nonetheless, I concluded through my own experiences that the lessons taught in my high school and Italian painting classes were about much more than just creating art. From my perspective, these lessons are worth applying beyond the canvas. They have taught me the importance of seeing beyond what I initially think I see or know. I have come to understand that our perceptions can be influenced by countless factors, such as our biases, prior experiences, and cultural conditioning. I have learned to question and examine the world around me with a critical eye. I now understand that what I perceive is not always an accurate reflection of reality. This realization has brought about a greater sense of open-mindedness and curiosity. Rather than accepting things at face value, I have developed a habit of exploring different perspectives and considering alternative explanations.

References:

Sperry RW. Cerebral Organization and Behavior: The split brain behaves in many respects like two separate brains, providing new research possibilities. Science. 1961 Jun 2;133(3466):1749-57. doi: 10.1126/science.133.3466.1749. PMID: 17829720.

E. I. Schiferl (2008) Both Sides Now: Visualizing and Drawing with the Right and Left Hemispheres of the Brain, Studies in Art Education, 50:1, 67-82, DOI: 10.1080/00393541.2008.11518756

Purcell, Carl. Your Artist's Brain: Use the right side of your brain to draw and paint what you see-not what you think you see. Penguin, 2010.

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