Making a Cigarette 1911

Charles Russell, sometime in the past, drew this cowboy making a cigarette, probably using ink. The whole drawing is built up out of quick, scratchy lines, like he was thinking aloud with his pen. You can see the hand of the artist here. The cowboy is caught in a moment of pure concentration, his hands deftly working the tobacco and paper. Look at the way Russell suggests the folds of the cowboy's clothes with just a few strokes, or how he captures the texture of the rope with a series of looping lines. Each mark feels intentional, yet spontaneous. It reminds me a bit of a Cy Twombly drawing, in that it's about trying to capture a sense of movement with a minimum of fuss. Both artists are more interested in the process of making the image than in photographic accuracy. With Russell, the image is less about the cowboy and more about the act of drawing.