Our Lady of Guadalupe 2

My blank board.

The first sketch of our Lady's face.

The sketch is rough.

Starting to add shade to the whole drawing.

Yesterday evening I decided to work on a project that I have been hoping to work on for a while - a cardboard Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Last night I finished the project.  My medium is charcoal and pastel.  A Lithuanian room-mate of mine first introduced me to this highly affordable form of art, and I have been hooked ever since.

It was fitting that I started this at the beginning of Lent, since my medium was mostly ashes (not blessed, of course!), and the board I used is mere trash, leftover from the package for a freezer we purchased a few years ago.  The words "Remember man that you are dust and into dust you shall return," kept popping through my head, reminding me of the shortness of life, and how important it is to be on God's side and doing His work while we are still on Earth.

I started out sketching our Lady on the board, added shading, and small bits of color where I saw fit.  And then?  Mere ashes and trash are transformed into a beautiful image of holiness.  May God so transform us sinful men, especially during this time of Fast.   

Working on shading the whole piece.

Placed tape strategically on board so as to have a frame and to know where to cut down the drawing.

The finished piece.