I was working on my latest portrait recently while listening to some classical music, and I stopped to wonder why I prefer to listen to music while I work. Back when I was an engineer, and even while studying physics in college, I could never seem to focus if music was playing, so I worked in silence. Now, I prefer to have music playing while I work, as though it gets my creative juices flowing. Wondering if this is related to a right-brain/left-brain phenomenon, I did some quick internet research and found that individuals who are predominantly left-brained are more drawn to logic, facts, reality, and readily comprehend math and science, while those who are predominantly right-brained rely more on intuition, symbols, imagination, and appreciate the philosophical. I’m pretty sure that I approach math and science in a purely logical way, and working in silence helps me to suppress any right brain activity that might interfere with how I analyze data. However, I don’t believe that I have a significant tendency toward left brained activity over right-brained. Moreover, it seems likely that some of the the most renowned mathematicians and scientists were adept at practicing their disciplines using both sides of their brain. After all, isn’t some creativity and imagination needed in order to create expressions that so eloquently describe nature, or to formulate new theories that go against popular thought?

I don’t mean to suggest that a person with a strong tendency toward left or right brain activity can’t be a genius in their field. What I am saying is that knowing one’s predisposition probably does help in choosing a career that will ensure success and satisfaction. Being interested in art, music, and philosophy as well as science and math probably means that I don’t have a strong leaning one way or the other. Therefore, I should be happiest in a career that allows me to exercise both sides of the brain. Clearly I do not possess this ability in the realm of math and science, but I do believe hat I approach art with a more balanced left/right brain functionalty, and I find that I am much more fulfilled. I enjoy the technical, more left-brained skills required to determine the proper proportions and colors to achieve realism, as well as the more right-brained activities such as visualizing a composition or understanding how to capture a subject’s expression on paper. I suspect that listening to music helps make sure that I don’t get too caught up in the orderly details, and sets my right brain free to bring the portrait to life.