Votive

Votive was the second piece in the mini-arc. A two figure composition, with a great deal of foreshortening on the female figure closest to the viewer.

It’s a rest point on a long journey, a chance to give thanks and make an offering.

The origin of the English word votive (both the noun and the more common adjective) comes from the Latin votivus, which has an original sense of ‘expressing a desire’ (the Latin root word also gives us the English word “vote”).

There’s also an aspect of caring in the gesture of the female figure, a hand reaching out to comfort or help, not reaching towards the viewer, but rather to someone beside them.

The viewers’ perspective on the composition is low, so that we do not loom over the figures, but meet them at the same level, as if we too are crouching, resting.

The male figure in the background is also looking away to the right, not meeting the gaze of the viewer.

I wanted to build an impression that the viewer was in the middle of something, part of the composition, which stretched beyond the edges of the paper, rather than viewing it from some divine all-seeing perspective.