St. Monica of Hippo

Tenacious Mother c. 333-387

Patronage Mothers, Criticism, Alcoholics, & Patience

Feast Day August 27

Monica married Patricius, a pagan Roman, when she was young, left to face the harsh tempers of her husband and mother-in-law. Monica spent most of her marriage in prayer, especially for the conversion of her husband, mother-in-law, and children. They all became Catholic; including her son Augustine.

Small Snippet

Saint Monica, intercede to the Holy Ghost that I may have patience and confidence that my loved ones will find a way to God in their own time.

Prayer

Artistic Process

I almost always start with a pencil sketch. I researched, meditated on, and pondered Monica’s life as a mother in the third century. Along with the plausible case for her skin color as she was from the North African region.

Of course cases can be made for Monica to have been white, as there were white people living in the region as well. This depiction is how I interpret her through my research.

Sketch

Carnation Photo

I stopped by my local church last summer at dusk because I wanted to take photos of the vases of flowers in front of the altar. It was hilarious because as I walked in a large group of people were watching a movie in the partitioned conference room side of the lower chapel.

Inspiration is as integral as written research. I can’t magically come up with how a North African woman looks from my imagination so I looked through many images to find what I thought would inform my depiction of Monica best.