A non-theist Prayer

A non-theist Prayer, 9''x12'' Pastels on toned paper
A non-theist Prayer, 9”x12” Pastels on toned paper

This drawing describes how I feel in many instances in life, observing the world. And while it is not a religious declaration, I couldn’t help but notice the extreme similarity to a prayer. It is not a call to a creator or a plea of any kind, but it is a dedication of the self to the beauty of the world. The feeling resembles that of a prayer in most regards which is why I decided to name it that.

The drawing is meant to be primarily a tonal drawing but intentionally does not stay true to the actual tones of the reference in reality. For instance the figure is made to be much more uniformly light than the actual model and several elements were invented (like the shawl). I decided to subordinate the description of form to the use of tones and to make it much more subtle. It is a new way of working for me, one that I enjoy (and also find strange) to work with.