Last year I had art in a little retail shop that was open only a few days a week, but it featured some fun items that were themed as if they had been inspired by voodoo practices, Pacific Islanders, and also...Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. This holiday is celebrated in Mexico on November 1st which coincides with the Catholic All Saint's Day (and the following All Soul's Day), and has it's roots in Aztec tradition. There are similar holidays in several cultures. It essentially honors the deaths of ancestors and departed family members with offerings and visits to cemeteries and celebrations. You may observe at a given time decorated sugar skulls and folks painted up in beautiful skeletal makeup. For this time of year, even though the owner painted imported cast ceramic busts to look like day of the dead ladies among other crafty items, I wanted to create some paintings featuring the lovely women in their made up faces and paper roses (the Catrinas/Katrinas), as painting is, well, what I do. :)
Here is one of my "Muerta" paintings from last year... it was about 6"x8" on wood....
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(I love painting hair and pheasant feathers!- this piece is sold) |
For this year, even though I made several small "muertas" last year, I only made two, but they are not the tiny boutique pieces like before. I made a portrait piece and another "Katrina", that took a little more time and pushed me out of my comfort zone, due to her slightly parted, full lips and the shadow on her neck.
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Katrina in the Rain - Muerta no. 9 -16x20" acrylic on canvas, sold
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The pieces for this year have been very enjoyable to create, and used a longer underpainting process to get the face tones just right (since they are big enough to see the shadows!) I hope you like them! I am very much looking forward to this fall, how about you?
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