Remi & Mattia by @steefje (Stephanie Reeuwijk)
Heavily inspired by the book 'Sans Famille (Alone in the World)' by Hector Malot. I loved this book when I was a little girl and when I came across it on the internet the other day, I wanted to do something with it.
This is Remi and his best friend Mattia with the dog Capi. Remi was sold for food when he was ten years old by his fosterparents to the streetmusician Vitalis. Vitalis teaches Remi to write, read, play the harp and together with the monkey Joli-Coeur and the dogs signor Capi, signor Zerbino and signora Dolce they travel around making a living as streetmusicians. Tragically, Vitalis dies on night in the freezing cold and after being attacked by wolves, only Remi and Capi survive. Remi goes to an old acquintance of Vitalis and there he meets Mattia. Together they travel around with nothing but their harp and violin.
The story goes further, but you'll have to read the book for that.
Just looking at your illustration makes me curious about this book. You've captured the energy and youth and hope of young boys in their energetic poses, and the setting you've put them in is full of details. This is truly a great pic. I love the hat on the dog! It's so cute! I think your picture displays great friendship and joy between two friends, no matter how hopeless times might be. It's good to see a happy picture like this.