Arch II
Info
The Arch II is a rendition within The Arch series whereby hands are touching as in prayer, yet with more space in between and only the fingertips are touching. The viewpoint is as if you are looking at your own hands held raised in front. The left ‘earthly’ hand is shaded in a darker bronze tone, while the right ‘spiritual’ hand is represented in a golden green shade. There is a soft tension in the pose, with the fingers of the earth-hand more curved, as if resisting and pushing back from the gentle reaching out of the spiritual-hand. This scene depicts the constant mental battle individuals face when seeking equilibrium and reconciliation between the physical world outside and the spiritual world within. At the touch points, the earth hand is changing colour, signifying the greater (yet gentler) strength of the spiritual realm. There is an optical illusion with the left thumb that is touching more fully - it seems to belong to the right hand instead of the left.
© Copyright 2025 - Etienne Romsom
Year : 2017
Medium :
Graphite and Charcoal
Size :
Size: W 42 cm x H 59.5 cm
Framed: W 58.5 cm x H 76 cm
Series of : 4
Arch Series
1. The Arch I
2. The Arch II
3. The Arch III
4. The Arch IV
The Arch series reflects my special obsession with drawing and painting of hands. Hands can be so expressive and just like eyes they are a doorway to the deeper dimensions of a human being. My objective in creating art is to capture and convey emotions from a private and intimate world with spontaneity and honesty. When I work on hands, I enjoy to show these in a state of prayer, tenderness or love. Each of these themes is on one hand so natural, yet at the same time so special and close. The works in this series were mostly painted by my graphite and charcoal stained fingers, as I found that this gives me more control in the fine shading work and softening of the lines.
In addition to the Arch series, you can see more hands in my ‘Hope & Wisdom’ series as well as ‘Inspired’ series of works.
