Intended as a warm-up sketch in pen and ink, this drawing developed into a study primarily in ink and wash. I had been cold all day, and only warmed my hands and feet by going under the quilt. I spoke to my daughter, who was also cold and under her blanket. I decided to draw the subject of retreating under a blanket in November.
I drew the figure low on the elongated page. I left most of the paper free and concentrated the dark tones on the bottom of the picture to convey the feeling of being low and underneath, in the dark warmth below. Most of the face is in the dark shadow the blanket casts over it. The starkness of black and white evokes the cold and colorless November day from which the figure retreats.
The drawing was liberated by a dark swirl shape in the blanket. I placed a similar freely painted shadow in wash above the head in response to the dark brushwork in the blanket. That unified the composition and sandwiched the figure between the blanket and shadow on the wall. That relationship pushed the figure further below and into the forms, and emphasized the experience of lying below a blanket. The line though the face downward into the blanket also sinks the figure underneath.
The realization of the sketch was not conscious, but driven by instinct. I understood the resolution of this sketch afterward in contemplation.