Our Lady of Good Counsel April 28th 2012 Watercolor and Ink 7.5 inches by 11 inches
"I am the Mother of fair love, of reverence, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Approach me, you who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits." ~ Sirach 24:17-19
"And now my children, listen to me; listen to instruction and learn to be wise. Happy are those who keep my ways, who day after day watch at my gates. For those who find me find life and win favor from the LORD." ~ Proverbs 8:32-35
So this is the first of a series of Madonnas I am planning on making, so stay tuned for those; I'll be getting them out by Feast Day. This one is two days late, since the Feast of Our Mother of Good Counsel is on the 26th of April, but oh well. I also had my Finals that day, so there's a reason it didn't get done. This one also took quite a long time to do; for the longest time Mary and Jesus' faces just would not cooperate. I eventually got Mary's face to something I was somewhat happy with, but for Jesus I just ended up using a picture of my niece Gianna for him (at least he looks cute, right?).
The history behind this particular image can be found here: [link] but I'll give a summarized account. In the little Italian town of Genazzano, there was an old church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel that had fallen into ruins. Around the 1440s, a widow named Petruccia used all of her money to try and restore the church, while the other townspeople scoffed at her for wasting her money on it. Now, one year, on the feast of St. Mark (the 25th of April), the town's patron, they held a faire in his honor in the town square where the church was. Towards evening, a luminous cloud suddenly descended on the church and the picture of Our Lady of Good Counsel appeared on the wall there.
I believe this fresco is the original image of Our Lady of Good counsel: [link]
Prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel
Most Glorious Virgin, chosen by the Eternal Counsel to be the Mother of the Eternal Word made flesh, thou who art the treasurer of Divine graces, and the advocate of sinners, I, thy most unworthy servant, have recourse to thee; be thou pleased to be my guide and counselor in this vale of tears. Obtain for me through the Most Precious Blood of thy Divine Son, the forgiveness of my sins, the salvation of my soul, and the means necessary to obtain it. In like manner, obtain for Holy Mother the Church victory over her enemies, and the spread of the kingdom of Jesus Christ upon the whole earth. Amen.
The Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel is April 26th.
Mater Boni Consill ora pro nobis Jesum filium tuum!
Baby Jesus looks adorable! I am loving the details and colours! (seriously, you must have a ton of patience in order to draw those intricate designs! ) Well done!
Beautifully drawn and exquisitely coloured, this is AMAZING, SPLENDID, AWESOME, BEAUTIFUL AND VISUALLY STUNNING!!!
AMAZINGLY DONE & EXQUISITELY WELL DONE!!!
Awwwwww... thank you!
You have AMAZING artwork!