The Thinker

Charcoal on Moonstone, 12"x 12", September 2019. From observation.

This sketch of Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker" was a twenty minute technical exercise in blocking shadows. This version of the sculpture is located at Cantor Art Center at Stanford. I found this to be a very interesting exercise, as I was surprised at how quickly I was able to capture the form of the sculpture simply by blocking in shadows. I also learned how to do highlights -- since the sculpture itself was dark, I shaded in the whole piece except for sections I had marked out as remaining the same color as the paper. I also found the face difficult -- capturing such tiny details proved difficult in comparison with the large strokes of the rest of the piece.

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