When drawing people, my art approach is to suggest they are alive. I have always tried to draw them with body language that would suggest they could be animated, as if any moment they would change their pose and actually move. The figure to the left is a bit dramatic, but it illustrates what I mean. Thfemale in the drawing seems to be posing as if for a photographer’s quick snap of the camera. You also have the feeling that any minute she will relax her pose.

In the graphite drawing study for the painting, Old Woodie, I show the body language of the man much as it would be. However, the viewer has the feeling that any moment the action will change. He is staring at the pump with anticipation, suggesting his next action.

In this graphite study (left) f0r a future watercolor painting, a young girl sits on a planting ledge examining her fingernails in a manner that would suggest she is bored with her surroundings.

A viewer gets the feeling that as soon as the old man finishes reading his paper, the scene will change. The young girl can certainly not keep her pose forever with the one leg up on the ledge. The boy with the orange will eventually finish peeling it and will eat it. The drawing suggests movement to come in the not distant future. Actually, the inaction in the drawing is an offset for the action going on around them. It was purposefully planned.