Charcoal Figures 4

Tension
Charcoal on Paper
30x20"

Click image to enlarge

Normally I nag Taylor about his shoulders - draw them back, stretch! He thinks Yoga is hilarious, and despite the fact that he can't touch his toes he can pull off a full Lotus with no effort or training - frustrating for the likes of me who has to work really hard towards stuff like that. Taylor's got classic climber's shoulders: big for his frame, prone to round forward, and susceptible to injury and aches.

In this case, however, the question mark physique is perfect. The tension through the arms and fists is emphasised even more by the angle of his torso. My next piece will be the 'release' of this pose - I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I'm sold on the paper by the way - I first tried this drawing on the cheaper paper and the way the charcoal skidded around the surface was really frustrating after the nice tooth I was using yesterday. I 'chalked' it up to experience, and started again.