Sugar Skull Mania! & Discussion on How an Artist's Brain Works
Are you in love with sugar skulls?
I know I am! Today, I feel like sharing some gorgeous Dia de los Muertos face and body painting designs I have created throughout my time as a painter.
My first ever Sugar Skull face paint on my lovely roommate and favorite guinea pig model! ;)
Dia de los Muertos
is a Mexican multi-day holiday during which family and friends gather and practice remembrance of their deceased loved ones. This holiday has grown to be recognized internationally, especially for their sugar skulls, which are placed at the dinner table or in the home as a place holder for deceased loved ones. Children and adults may also wear sugar skull masks or face paint.
Due to the international recognition of this holiday, I get asked for sugar skull designs all the time!
My spider web Sugar Skull design.
A sugar skull and skeleton painting I did on my favorite model again-my roommate. This took me about 8 hours to create. Yes, I am dedicated.
Due to the widespread popularity of the Dia de los Muertos Holiday, sometimes symbolism from other cultures is requested in my designs, which creates for some interesting results.
My good friend at a concert during which I was painting.
I have been asked if I am afraid someone will be upset due to cultural appropriation of this holiday while painting these designs. My humble response as an artist is that an artistic creation is essentially a collection of all the imagery and other sensory input that we have experienced and enjoyed in our lives. Due to my exposure to this holiday, I will inevitably include imagery from it in my art work while I am attempting to express myself.
If you have other theories as to how an artist imagines their creations, please leave a comment to discuss!
In order to better respect this cultural holiday, I explain what Dia de los Muertos is to my clients as they are getting painted. This gives them the opportunity to put their intentions into allowing the experience of being painted to be a remembrance of their own deceased loved ones. You can see this in their facial expressions in the photos above, which are all more pensive rather than giggly.
That being said, there is no doubt that these Sugar Skulls are some of the most beautiful imagery I have seen-in any culture.
I love sugar skulls!
I've never seen one painted over a beard though, but really loving the effect. And as long as your client is happy, that's all that matters, right?
8 hours for body paint! OMG. Both you and your model/guinea pig must have been exhausted.
Beards are both an asset and an enemy in face painting, depending on the design! Also, body painting can take so long, sometimes 10 hours or more depending on technique and detail but it is so addictive. I love it! =)
Very cool!
Thank you! I try to keep things fun and interesting!