The boy from Madagascar

This is a drawing of a local kid from Madagascar.
The paper is finished with an intentional rip along the bottom edge of the drawing; read on to find out why... :-)

My parents used to volunteer on the Island by helping the adults build wells and shelters, and by teaching the children hygiene and some basic French writing.
Although they took endless photos of the forever smiling local children, this one stood out to them as he was one of the only boys with straight hair.

I chose to do this drawing because of a touching story my parents told me, which has stayed with me and helped me keep my feed grounded...
During one of the French classes, one of the boys had a runny nose. As they would normally wipe their nose on their sleeve or their arm, my mum gave him a tissue.
In Madagascar, everyone is a community and they share everything. And this included this particular tissue. The boy meticulously ripped each square and passed them onto his friends.
Mum and dad obviously found this touching and hilarious, and handed out tissues to every kid in the class.
By our standards, people on that island have nothing, and yet you will never meet anyone more happy or with a larger smile on their face. And their generosity is a reminder that no matter how little you have, it is always possible to share.

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Hi,

Thank you for dropping by...
My name is Cecile Michel and I am a pencil artist living in Paynesville, Australia.
I draw with graphite pencils and charcoal on stretched canvas to create strong contrasts and subtle shadows.
I love using the black and white theme to reinforce a sense of fun memories (like black and white photographs) but occasionally will throw in a few limited pieces containing colour... Just to keep thinks surprising and unexpected.
When I drew my first “Nostalgia” piece, I couldn’t stop smiling as I remembered the endless hours spent playing games with my cousin in our little village in the East of France; I wanted to share this feeling with you and hopefully you will find that object which is part of YOUR happy memories.