Comments on: TIP: Explore your dominant side

By: Ujwala

Ujwala — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:07:17 +0000

really interesting read. thank you. my right eye is dominant. i tried out the placing the easel to the left. doesn’t seem to work for me either. other factors must be at play too. just like i bring the camera to my right eye when i’m taking a pic, the easel gets put on the right when i’m drawing or painting.

By: Maria

Maria — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:13:12 +0000

I’ve always known that my left eye is dominant, so I’ve always tried to strengthen my right eye with little exercises. Whether we choose left or right in circumstances like clasping your hands and crossing your thumbs allows you to see which side of the brain is more dominant. I find using the side which is weaker improves co-ordination and stretches the brain. For example when reaching the supermarket, do you usually park on the left or the right, when getting onto a train do you take a seat left/right. Facing your weaknesses, not avoiding them improves overall performance.

By: Cindy Procious

Cindy Procious — Sun, 24 May 2009 13:40:57 +0000

Well, it’s good that you have your palette right in front of you - that means you’re not getting up too close to your easel.

If you move your set up - you’ll probably find it a bit wonky at first, but I’ll be interested to see if it affects any change.

By: sue smith

sue smith — Sun, 24 May 2009 05:29:01 +0000

Good grief - I’m left eye dominant - but my palette is in front of me and the still life is set up to the right. I’m right handed, but now that I think about it, when I squint I look primarily through my left eye. I always tossed that off to one eye having better vision than the other. I’ll rearrange things and give it a try, see if it’s any easier setting up to the left.

By: Cindy Procious

Cindy Procious — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:36:53 +0000

R Garriott - are you saying you work lefthanded but you’re right hand dominant?

By: Cindy Procious

Cindy Procious — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:35:21 +0000

Jake - I learned about eye dominance when we had a birthday party for my son at an archery range. The instructor had everyone hold up their hands as shown in the diagram and look at his nose. He pointed at everyone in turn and said Right Right Left Right Left etc etc. I was shocked that I was left eye dominant. What that means in archery is that I had to shoot left handed (pull the bow back with my left hand.) It was awkward as all get-out - but I tried it with my right - and I was way more accurate with my left.

As for your tools, palette, etc - you could always try putting that directly in front of your easel. Makes it easy to access, and keeps you from getting too close to your painting (and choking up on your brushes).

But ultimately - whatever works best for you is the “right” way.

By: Cindy Procious

Cindy Procious — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:27:13 +0000

Can’t hurt, Jesus - but it’ll take some getting used to.

By: Cindy Procious

Cindy Procious — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:25:31 +0000

Decker, I think basically you’re talking about standing way to the left to paint. This seems counter-intuitive to me.

It’s not about excluding the non-dominant eye - it’s about maximizing the effectiveness of the dominant one.

By: R Garriott

R Garriott — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:52:22 +0000

Fascinating! Thanks! Due to a small studio I work backwards and lefthanded. This might explain some of my vision problem, though.

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:49:45 +0000

I’m right eye-right hand. I’ve experimented with easel placement a bit and found that I like to have the easel on the right so I don’t keep looking over my right shoulder at the subject. I’ve always felt a little more comfortable, visually, with the easel on my left and my tools and setup to the right, but I always felt it was very inconvenient to reach across me if I look at the setup and have my hand toward the easel.

In my home workspace it’s also nearly impossible for me to set the easel up to the left most of the time, if I’m using a French easel, due to the layout of my rather limited space. I’m going to have to keep experimenting with it. I like your reasoning, but over the years I have found my way easier, physically. This is the first real practical advice I’ve ever had on the subject. It’s always been something I’ve wondered if I was doing “right.”