Sawyer
Sawyer (2022)
8½x11 Pastel on Pastel Paper
Original is Sold
Lovers of painting and lovers of music are people who openly display their preference like a delectable ailment that isolates them and makes them proud. — Maurice Blanchot
Meet Sawyer, a new addition to the Mini Figurative series. There is an open, almost questioning nature to this pose that immediately caught my attention. With his arms extended and palms turned outward, he is standing completely naked, looking off to the side with an expression that feels less like a performance and more like an honest, unfiltered moment of vulnerability.
The main technical hook for me here was working out the anatomy of his forearms and hands in this specific position. Turning the palms forward completely changes how the muscles twist and lay across the arms. Against our solid, warm ochre paper, I used deep charcoal tones to carve out the heavy shadows beneath his chest and core, then let the white pastel catch the top edges of his shoulders, arms, and thighs to simulate a strong, overhead light source. It gives his athletic build a grounded, structural presence while keeping the overall focus simple and clean.
