L'amore di una madre

11 x 14 inch Strathmore 500 Mixed Media Heavyweight paper
Derwent Lightfast pencils
Reference:
Library of Congress collection, reproduction and publication specifically permitted

I have had so little creative time of late, it has vexed me. This is a piece that I almost never started, I really had to consider whether the subject was ok for me to tackle, as this poor lady is enduring very difficult times.

The year is 1936 and this 32 year old, widowed mother of 7 is living in a roadside tent with her children, working on farms to provide food. Times were very hard and the anguish is clear. Before I could consider drawing this, I did need to check she had been ok... she lived for many more years and successfully raised her children thankfully. And so I titled it L'amore di una madre, a mother's love, because it exemplified the fierce maternal love that kept her children safe.

The original photo was black and white, so I chose colours and fabrics that I felt were sympathetic to the original, as well as removing a tent pole to balance out the composition and reveal a little more of the little baby.

Whilst young, there is such emotion on this mother's face and I wanted to be sure to capture that... the furrowed brows, the tell tale orange peel texture on the chin, this is someone I just want to reach back in time for, to help where assistance is so much needed.

Pure pencil and blending pencils were used throughout, along with a Slice tool at points for the hair and eraser for lifting to build textures. I built smooth skin textures initially, and then proceeded to overlay markings where needed. The paper held up very nicely, only a few muttered words of encouragement were given in the latter stages, and I developed a huge respect for this mother's devotion and love for her children whilst drawing her.

So there you have it, wishing you all a good weekend😊