Site Header
ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
Deviation Actions
Badge Awards
Description
Afghan Girl - Ballpoint Pen on paper.
16-10-2014 Update: I am re-releasing this drawing in a much higher resolution, so people can see its true detail. Enjoy!
I always wanted to draw this ever since I first saw it when I was 8 years old, but kept postponing it because I lacked the skill.
Sharbat Gula (Pashto: شربت ګله) (pronounced [ˈʃaɾbat]) (born 1972) is an Afghan woman who was the subject of a famous photograph by journalist Steve McCurry. Gula was living as a refugee in Pakistan during the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when she was photographed. The image brought her recognition when it was featured on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine at a time when she was approximately 12 years old. Gula was known throughout the world simply as "the Afghan Girl" until she was formally identified in early 2002.
The photograph has been likened to Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa and is sometimes popularly referred to as "the Afghan Mona Lisa". Pashtun by ethnicity, Gula was orphaned during the Soviet Union's bombing of Afghanistan and sent to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984. Her village was attacked by Soviet helicopter gunships sometime in the early 1980s. The Soviet strike killed her parents, forcing her, her siblings and grandmother to hike over the mountains to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in neighboring Pakistan.
She married in the late 1980s and returned to Afghanistan in 1992. Gula had three daughters: Robina, Zahida, and Alia. A fourth daughter died in infancy. Gula has expressed the hope that her girls will receive the education she was never able to complete.
Took aprox. 120 hours to finish over a period of 40 days. Lost about 30% quality during scanning.
The size is 10" x 8" or 20 cm x 26 cm.
A few wip shots for this drawing: sta.sh/028zeixxvwac
Other wips: sta.sh/0kab8ft93po
Thank you for faving and watching.
» FACEBOOK « | » PRINTS «
Due to thousands of questions and my lack of time to answer them all here are the answers for the most frequently asked:
» FAQ « |
More like this from me:
Materials: 8 Bic Cristal Pocket Scents colored ballpoint pens: www.amazon.co.uk/Bic-Cristal-P… also Classic black Bic ballpoint pen and Classic blue Bic ballpoint pen on 300g/m2 A4 smooth paper.
Artwork © Samuel Silva - `VianaArts 2013 All rights reserved.
Reference photo © National Geographic/Steve McCurry All rights reserved. Special written authorization was given to me by Steve McCurry to draw and display this drawing
Image size
2500x3232px 1.58 MB
Comments966
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Utterly fantastic. I was about your same age, 8 or 9, when I saw her image on the cover of National Geographic. I instantly got a MASSIVE case of "puppy love". I wonder how many young boys that happened to. Those eyes, combined with the serious look, and the tribal clothing...it piqued the interest of boys with adventurous hearts and love for sci-fi. It was powerful. Just think the Chani character of "Dune".
