The only name to give him

A few years ago, I made the image of Hans-My-Hedgehog being rocked by his mother. You can read the post, and why I love this scene,  by clicking here.  When it came time to redo this in color, I wanted to do it differently this time. I wanted to make it into a spot illustration that would fit in line with the text, in keeping with the new version of the color Hans-My-Hedgehog I made last week (see post below). I also realized Hans himself needed to be tinier than I made him before. You might notice a repeating pattern from the drawing Hans piping in the trees: the turquoise with red and white dots. I did this on purpose. Though the Grimm fairytale is very dark--the father wishes for the hedgehog child and then does not love him--I believe that the once barren mother who bore him loved him.  She made this special blue blanket for her little lad, whom she names Hans. Hans, pink and tiny with the soft quills of a baby hedgehog, sleeps on the shoulder of his mother. When he leaves the family home, I imagine he took the blanket with him, along with the bagpipes from his father and the donkeys, pigs, and his rooster, and made it into something he could keep with him in his new, solitary life. 

"Rocking Hans to Sleep" Copyright 2015 Jessica Boehman. Colored pencil, pencil, gouache. Do not reproduce without permission.