...and it evolves...

here's "Bend" about 75% done.

It is now taped to my living room wall so I can see it everyday and make changes as needed. A few things stand out so far: that boot. The foot angle is off.

The hand. Right now it's somewhat shapeless. Gotta work on that.

I need to do extensive self-critiques to make sure everything looks correct. I do not work from photographs, so everything on the paper is an original composition that was in my imagination. I have to look at the piece for several days and makes notes if something jumps out at me. Then, it's back up to the studio and fix fix fix.

I use Canson Mi-Tientes paper because it can handle multiple erasings and bold lines with soft, super black charcoal. (my goodness, I love this paper!) You can use an aggressive, quick hand on this paper, and it doesn't flinch.

I chose a large sheet of terracotta Canson Mi-Teintes for this piece.