In speaking of Dmitry Shostakovich s ability to compose almost an entire score within his head Da

In speaking of Dmitry Shostakovich’s ability to compose almost an entire score within his head, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work recounts:

“I always found it amazing that he never needed to try things out on the piano,” his younger sister recalled. “He just sat down, wrote out whatever he heard in his head, and then played it through complete on the piano. But this feat was apparently preceded by hours or days of mental composition—during which he “appeared to be a man of great inner tensions,”

Location : 1290–1293

It occurs to me, perhaps this is what I’m trying to do by taking a day or so in between drawing sessions. Letting the idea of the image “soak in,” and become a concrete reality. Images, like the image of Sam on the couch, which have spent quite a bit of time in my head, being contemplated – whose angles and shadows I’ve taken the time to mentally comprehend, and understand what they mean, always come much more easily to me in the execution.

Now, if only I could examine the process, and use it whenever I choose. But the understanding, of techniques comes slowly, and takes time away from the task of drawing, itself.