Like a Snail On An Aquarium Wall

I know that one is supposed to keep titles brief, but this one just needed to fly.  The phrase "like a snail on an aquarium wall" aptly fits how I feel drawing away at my easel.  This is no small piece of art...it is made for TEXAS, if you know what I mean.  My progress mirrors that of a snail often when I'm doing detailed pencil drawings.  Snails just ooze along making headway at about a centimeter an hour, it seems.  The photo reference often leaves dark areas that make it difficult to determine just exactly how that rope goes or how that hoof angles.  And as I've said before...the devil is in the details with this genre of representational art.

I spend so much time scrutinizing the reference for details that are very hard to see, and then there comes the slow laying down of line and value on the drawing, double-checking as I go.  So it's tedious but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'll set my timer for 20 minutes as I work standing at my easel.  Then I'll take a break for 10 minutes and sit at my art desk studying in my art books.  Beep, beep and it's back to the easel.  That technique helps to keep my focus refreshed.  I alternate that schedule for hours at a time.  So... back to more oozing at the easel!