Cast Drawing

This image is a drawing of a cast of my own hand. I'm fortunate enough to have know someone who can make these casts and it didn't cost me a dime, but they do normally charge for them. If anyone is in the Memphis area and would like a cast ask for Tim.
This drawing was done on gray toned paper with vine, compressed, and white charcoal. This is one of a few pieces done lately on toned paper. Not sure that I'm a fan of toned paper. The image somehow doesn't seem as real. I plan on working more from a toned wash and pulling the light values back out with those wonderful kneaded erasers.
This one was a test of that omnipresent struggle of deciding how much detail to allow. Will adding detail detract from that overall effect? It does feel that the right balance was achieved in this piece.
Norman Rockwell's autobiography My Adventures as an Illustrator deals with this subject in funny anecdotes. He would use techniques such as using his left hand, painting with a brick or a shingle, or even painting drunk in order to avoid tightening the work up too much.
My wife loves this one. Not that the work is that good, but that fact that it is on this website means the setup is no longer occupying the dining table :)