Drawing journal: high-contrast, low-outline

I came in a bit late to drawing today, because I’d realized a work report hadn’t uploaded and yada yada, had to take care of that–shortchanging my spiritual-practice time is not the way I like to start my Monday sabbath. Then when I got to the studio, I realized I was short on paper and needed to fit the remaining short poses onto one sheet. (I could get more at the break.) But maybe it was coming in late, working small, and starting fast that spurred me to draw only the darkest shadows, no subtle shading, no lines–or maybe it was just something dramatic in the light on the first two-minute pose I saw. I grabbed a small piece of soft charcoal and started in. No lines. Mostly black. Gradually, over the course of the session, I loosened up on both self-imposed rules, as they had the desired effect. This was one of the most satisfying mornings of drawing I’ve ever experienced.