The right side of the brain: life as an art student in London
Are you governed by the left or right side of your brain?
The theory is that our brains have a dominant side that governs our traits – what we’re interested in, what our skills tend to be.
Creative, artistic individuals are said to be ‘right-sided’ and logical, mathematical thinkers ‘left-sided’.
Eduardo from Brazil, a self-proclaimed ‘right-sider’ blogs about his life as an art student in London.
Art and design are very different from most things I have done in my life.
The thing that most people need to know about studying art and design at INTO London is that it’s very much about learning how to express yourself.
It’s not about learning a ‘style of art’, as most people can pick up a style. It’s about developing your own way of showcasing your art.
In Brazil, we learnt about the history of art and tried to replicate things from the professional geniuses.
But throughout my studies in London, I have learnt it’s more about trying to find your own genius.
My artwork isn’t very detailed or realistic, I’d describe my work as abstract.
In Brazil, my style wasn’t understood, but in London, I have the freedom to express myself how ever I like.
I started to really enjoy art, and that is something that I had never experienced before.
Because the teachings are mostly focussed on modern art, it gives you room to be your own artist and do your own thing.
In my day-to-day life, I walk around and draw the streets and the buildings and I have fun doing it.
My teachers are always trying to accommodate me and my ways of thinking and that is actually quite amazing. When I first came here, my teacher, Phil, saw my drawings and said they look like a child’s drawing. Some may take that as a criticism, right?
However, he explained that he wanted to draw like that, because once you learn how to draw in a certain way, you cannot re-learn how to draw without thinking so much.
He explained that he was actually jealous of me. Which is interesting considering that he is an artist and creates brilliant pieces of art.
The teachers are all very supportive and make you think outside the box. They inspire you to create interesting pieces, which is really important.
My advice for any new art and design students is that you should make the most of the art room. It’s a very nice place to work. It’s also open outside of class hours which is good because you can spend your whole afternoon there and work work work!
Overall, because of this course, I feel like I have grown intellectually because now I can see things in a different way.
The International Foundation in Art and Design is a great stepping stone for the first year of an undergraduate degree in subjects such as architecture, art and fashion.
You may also like to read: 5 reasons London is an awesome student city.
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