I don’t think I chose the best photo reference out of my photos for this pencil/value study, the lighting on the sculpture didn’t really reveal much contrast on the form, as only a fraction of direct spotlight was hitting it. But I chose to study this particular sculpture more for the pose/foreshortening/emotion/expression which really stood out from the rest.

I was also listening to one of Jordan Peterson’s most recent interviews, and in it he was talking about the psychological persona and shadow, the hero’s journey, life being a struggle and tragic... this particular sculpture I thought resonated quite well with what he was talking about, maybe that’s partly why I chose to draw it.