Punched In The Face

I recently started a doodle of a man getting punched in the face based on a picture I'd found. I loved the motion in the picture and have been working on getting better at using a technic called stippling in my sketches and thought this would be a good one to practice on. About three hours later, this was the final product. 

Late Night Sketch - Andy Ellwood 9/21/2015

I had had this quote in mind the whole time while drawing and added it to the picture the next morning as I had my morning cup of coffee. I am not going to lie, I am really proud of this sketch and hope to continue to do more in this style. The exercise of the creative side of my brain was really relaxing and gave me a break from thinking through all of the things that were waiting for me the next day. 

Someone asked me if there was a specific something that had inspired this picture and this quote. As I thought about it, it was a combination of things. When the world started to go haywire for me about a year ago, I joined a boxing gym. That discipline and outlet of energy was better than any therapy session. I found out this week that my gym is closing due to the rent increasing more than they can handle and so yet another batch of transition is under way.  I also thought about the obvious and the subtle punches to the face that 2015 has brought. Some of the more obvious moments that looked like solid upper cuts were actually glances that landed, but didn't do much damage. Then there were other punches thrown that landed but didn't have the ESPN Top 10 highlight reel pizzazz. Those were the ones that left a mark and caused me to have to catch my breath. 

Having experienced both the literal and figurative punches to the face this year, I think I will look back on this drawing for a long time to come as an encapsulation of my year and a reminder that plans change quickly when you find yourself punched in the face.