Contact was my first drawing from a chance snapshot of my Portland neighbor.  I emerged on my balcony and began to snap photos while I told him (pleaded with him) to just keep grilling the burgers.  I had always been fascinated by the intricate iron work on the building’s balconies.  I particularly liked the way that the railing managed to slice the figure up into several increasingly small pieces. What a perfect way to indicate negative space!  The headset was another bonus; but my favorite part of this composition was the figure’s hand gesture.  The point of “contact” is the smallest fragment. The intense focus and one finger touch seemed to create a mystery at the heart of the picture.  What is he touching?  

 

If I had been using especially harsh shading in the first three Figurines (completed in Portland), the shading in the last two (completed in Chicago) seemed to be especially soft and overly blended.  “Pasty” was the word I would come to use for it.  The lighting transitions in the right knee and in the tee shirt are good examples.  The sneakers and the KISS button were my favorites at the time.