Another Figure 2

I did another brief figure session last night. I just don't tire of the human figure. This is probably why I draw body parts for a living. It introduces infinite challenges and possibilities. My first sketch is the large one on the bottom of the page. These pages are 18x24 to give you a scale reference. I worked much too close to the model and did not work the entire figure as a whole. It looks disjointed, choppy, and timidly drawn. I wasn't loose and thought too much about each part. The top one is the same model and I just relaxed and drew. I like the outcome better.

As I analyzed this afterward, many analogies came to mind. Too much thinking inhibits the hand and fluidity of the drawing. Take an NFL game in which a quarterback is throwing interceptions and getting frustrated. You often hear about the coach addressing the QB with things like, don't think too much and to play instinctively. They are not simply reacting to the situation and are thinking too much. In that game, there isn't time to think and analyze too much. You must rely on instincts and muscle memory from all the hours and days of practice and breaking down plays and attacking each element of the game.

I never played football but instead ran track as a sprinter and jumper. Have you ever watched and analyzed a world class sprinter? Take for instance someone who just won the 100m and you watch the race in slow motion. Their jaw is relaxed as the facial muscles bounce with each stride and their quads contract and relax upon hitting the track. They ran their race. They allowed it to just happen and not think too much. Now watch it in real time. It was a blur. Do you think the sprinter had the time to analyze each stride? When you think, you tense up, your stride becomes choppy. You do not allow your muscles to work in unison as they should relax and contract in synergy. Now look at the 2nd and 3rd place guys and down the line. Yes, it might be the agony of defeat on their faces but more than likely they did not run their race. They realize they're behind, tense up, and begin thinking "run faster, contract muscles harder, etc". They lost track of running their race.

All this might seem like a far stretch from drawing but I feel so much of what I do and did, when analyzed, will often parallel one another.