“I wouldn’t put it that way…”

Research takes time because clarity comes from considering the nuances of an idea, which is not a speedy process. Sometimes even after forty years of working together it can feel like you are just getting started at understanding an idea.

After dinner, these two friends since graduate school stayed at the table talking for a long time while I sketched on the iPad. Besides exchanging stories, telling jokes, and catching up on news, they kept coming back to an idea they are working on. The body language of the speaker shows idea building. His eyes are looking away into space and his hands are symbolically holding parts of the idea for him. The listener is carefully considering what is said and his wry smile and distant gaze indicate that he does not yet think the idea is stated well. But he waits, holding his arms down, until the speaker throws the idea back at him to hold and consider.

This is an iPad sketch.