I mean, of course, the task of drawing the human hand. This must surely be one of the most complex structures confronted regularly by artists. The problem of drawing/painting it is compounded by the fact that relatively minor changes in the disposition of the hand can make a huge difference to its expressive potential. I believe I am right in saying that each hand contains something like thirty bones, and the range of possibilities for their varied articulation is immense.
It should not be surprising, therefore, to discover that I am in a bit of a state at the moment about a task I have set myself. This week I have embarked on a series of six related drawings. The centre of attention of each one is a head, but the last one I am now embarked upon includes also the hands. From the outset I knew that it would be sheer folly to even think about this project without a proper model, so this morning I roped in my dear wife for a photographic session. I have managed to get a shot with matches my projected design very well. Even so, the subtlety of the structure is such that working from a photograph is not straightforward. Small deviations from the model soon convey quite a different feeling …. either that our they just look wrong. I persist!