This work was one of the most hard-fought. Started years ago, after the client asked me for two drawings (one for each arm), for various personal reasons we had to wait a year and a half before starting it and after the first two sessions we had to wait yet another year to be able to finish it.
Now that it’s finally completed and healed I can show it to you.
The initial request was pretty clear, a lioness with two puppies walking amongst evil spirits in a dark environment, as a representation of his mother who over the course of her life has had to face countless difficulties to take care of her two puppies, representing the client and his sister.
Although I liked the idea of the lioness, the evil spirits didn’t convince me. I thought it over and over and in the end I came up with something naturalistic.
Why not put this lioness on a rock, with waves crashing and the sky covered in dark clouds foretelling a storm, with a fierce attitude worthy of the queen of the animal kingdom that will figure out how to bring her puppies to safety?
He liked the idea a lot and during our next meeting he provided me with additional information that led me to make one of the puppies more shy, on top of the mother, and the other, representing the client, more bold.
So I decided to draw the puppies facing the viewer, like kittens that are intrigued and a little frightened, while the proud and confident mother doesn’t even bother looking at us because she knows that we don’t represent a threat; in the end she can tear us to pieces whenever she pleases 😀
The final touch, which I particularly like, is the puppy on the ground mirroring the position of the lioness, as if to say that one day he too will be a proud lion like his mother.
During the last session I also suggested we close the piece with a graphic decoration, as I have been doing for years, rather than with a simple shading. The idea was accepted and makes the work even more beautiful.
Now we just have to start the second drawing, which by the way is already ready, hoping we won’t have to wait as long as we did for the first one 😀
Look at the pictures of the working process below.