New mothers seem to live in a fog of exhaustion and try to sneak in much-needed sleep when they can find the time. When I saw this tired Mom and her new baby taking a nap in a “cozy” chair, I sensed a feeling of peaceful love.
Sweet Slumber (12×9), a charcoal drawing was done using vine and compressed charcoal, a bit of graphite for some of the hair. My goal was to use carbon for the skin of both Mom and baby, but the carbon pencil was hard and I couldn’t get a nice smooth appearance, I think next time I’ll create a pile of carbon dust and apply with a brush. Because of this 98% of the drawing became charcoal. Tools used were: kneaded eraser, tortilum, stump, and artist brushes.
Thanks for checking in. Click onto the image for a larger view ~
Original reference was from Susan Cook of pmp. The image was cropped for a tight close-up of Mother and Baby.
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PLEASE DON’T COPY OR USE MY IMAGE WITHOUT RECEIVING MY PERMISSION FIRST – SEE DISCLOSURE ON THE RIGHT PANEL.
Oil Pastels by Mary 
Mary, this lovely picture evokes cozy memories of my own babies. Very well done.
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
Hi Wendy, this is such a nice comment – it’s always rewarding for me when a creative piece touches someone. Thank you so much!
Gorgeous, tender!
Thank you so much Laurel!
Hello Mary,
You know I admire all of your beautiful artwork, but this stirred up strong emotions & brought a tear to my eye. So beautiful, so tender. Thank you so much for sharing.
Best wishes,
Takami
Wow Takami what a beautiful thing to say – it’s such a compliment to an artist when ones work provokes an emotional response. I can’t tell you what that means to me. Thank you so much – have a wonderful day.
It’s my pleasure. I love your artwork ❤
You’ve caught the sweetness of the moment:)
Thanks very much Elena!
So sweet Mary. Love it!!
Thanks Beth!
One of my favorites, Mary ❤
Thank you so much Angie!
So wonderful!
Thanks Elizabeth!
So precious! 🙂
Thank you Eva!
So beautiful! Great work Mary!
Thanks Linz!
Lovely! ❤
Thanks Bette!
How very very sweet Mary. I remember those days! Love the sweet sleeping baby and the way the mom is resting her head over the baby as if the protect the child while they sleep. Very nicely done!
Rhonda – I thought many Mom’s would appreciate how exhausted they were with their new babies. Thanks so much!!
How very soothing!
Thank you very much Ashokb
Beautiful work, Miss Mary
Big Hugs
uncle john
Thanks Uncle John!
Beautiful!
Thank you!
So precious, melts my heart!
Thanks a lot Janell!
Remind me again, Mary, that you’re not a portrait artist? The delicacy in this is…….beyond. Just really really beyond. Perhaps your very best yet.
Hi A! Thanks and I’m still finding my footing. Appreciate your thoughts on this piece.
You’ve captured the peacefulness of the slumber so well.
Thank you Gallivanta – it was a sweet scene to capture.
Both are very beautiful in they own way. Love the tenderness, gentleness of the embrace. Beautifully executed details. Love the little small ears, the open mouth and small rounded shoulders of the child. Peaceful indeed, lovely display of motherly love!
Thank you Eva – I fell in love with the baby, she was great fun to draw. The Mother was tough and I found with the little bit I used carbon on couldn’t be removed, so there are some technical issues with her – lessons learned for the next time. But still a good exercise because of the weird positions and adult vs baby. So glad you mentioned peaceful, that’s what I was trying to convey(yeah)! Thanks again ~
Aww, how sweet.
Thanks Gloria!
Oh, this is so beautiful and serene! 🙂 ❤
Thank you so much Trini!
🙂 ❤
This is lovely, Mary! 😀
Thank you!
Expertly done, Mary! There’s such a lovely tenderness to it.
Thanks Steven!
Beautiful work Mary, very sweet 🙂
Thanks Karen.
What a precious moment, so beautifully captured. Mary, your charcoal work is amazing. I know little about it but these drawings are just amazing to me. xx
Hi Linda – hope you are feeling better. Thank you – still working on different angles and features w/my portrait work. Appreciate your encouragement. Charcoal is just like painting with soft pastels – very dusty, which is bad with light carpet. Tomorrow I’m going to have to do some major cleaning (ops!)!
Beautifully done, Mary. I love both facial expressions.
Thanks Sylvia, still working on features and appreciate your comment.
precious!!!!
Thanks Laurie – appreciate it! You guys should be experiencing the Spring rains down in Houston pretty soon – stay tuned for the rocking and rolling weather.
I, too, sensed a feeling of peaceful love, which was beautifully conveyed through your charcoal.
Thanks so much Amy!