Hands

For my figure drawing class, I needed to draw hands in charcoal from a photo reference. Here's my final drawing below. This was done in record time considering how nicely it came out! I worked on it up close so much without standing back to look at it from a distance. So when I got it to class and pinned it up with all the others, I was in awe how good it came out and photographic it looked...and only noticed it when I took a break and looked at it from a distance. I spent a little more time on it for detail touch-ups and decided to do a unique border.

The hands belong to the famous dancer Merce Cunningham who has a dance company by his name and is older now. The original photo portrait of his face and hands was taken by Annie Leibovitz in New York, 1994. I edited it to emphasize the hands only. I love their gesture, body language, and the dramatic lighting. Also, he has age spots and wrinkles which adds that much more character to the photo and piece I made.