Drawing a perceived object (so-called “realistic” drawing), Betty Edwards proposes, is a visual perceptual skill made up of five component skills. These are the basic skills that you will learn in our workshops. They are: 1) Seeing and drawing edges (sometimes called “contour drawing”) 2) Seeing and drawing spaces (called “negative spaces”) 3) Seeing and drawing relationships (called “perspective and proportion”) 4) Seeing and drawing lights and shadows (called “shading”) 5) Seeing and drawing the whole (called the gestalt, the “thing itself,” the essential nature of the observed subject, which emerges spontaneously from the first four component skills). Instruction in these component skills fits the overarching rule stated above by presenting a student’s brain with tasks that L-mode will turn down, as fancifully described below. Perception of edges: For L-mode, “Too complex, too slow, not needed for quick naming.” Perception of spaces: “I do not deal with nothing. It’s not useful; spaces can’t be named.” Perception of relationships: “Too paradoxical. Don’t tell me that ceiling slants. I know it is horizontal. Don’t tell me that person in the distance is half the size of the one close by. This stuff doesn’t fit what I know.” Perception of lights and shadows: “Too complicated! And they keep changing! Not useful.” Perception of the gestalt: “Too many parts. I can’t pay attention and name them all—I’ll just name the whole thing.”