Calavera Pumpkins

It is still early October, but I am already all about The Day of the Dead.

That’s because I’m having an art show for a series of paintings I did after my beloved Tula died of Lymphoma 2 years ago.

Her death, so close to Halloween and the “falling back’ of the clocks, the increasing cold and the darkness of winter made me feel a little panicky. I countered that with art therapy and it all flowed from one painting on a big, old wooden panel.

This year the sun is still out so I invited my  artist neighbor Warren over to play with me.

warren_2

I had an idea to make decorations for my show by making white pumpkins into containers for hot colored mums.

pumpkinguts

We hollowed them out and carved them a bit as usual, and then used Liquitex acrylic paint markers and sharpies to decorate them to look like Mexican Calaveras.

warren_3

warren_1ashley_1

ashley_2

ashley_3

Warren claims his looks like me but I saw no likeness, but when we popped in the mums I changed my mind.

Skulls with flowery headdresses!!

aw

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Dia de los Muertos

A year ago I lost my beloved Tula to lymphoma-@*&%$#@Cancer!

tulasnow

Tula

I was hit by the triple whammy of mourning, autumn and the dreaded “Falling Back!”

It was dark, rainy and cold.

So what does an artist do to raise her spirits?

Paint skeletons!

boardpainting_3web

My 1st painting was done in acrylic on an old board with appliqued, dried, ferns.

I painted several memorial images of Tula, and other dogs and cats.

Pansyweb

PansyCat

Seabiscuitweb

The ghost of Seabiscuit

pike

Northern Pike

solsticesheep

The solstice sheep

This year my Dia de los Muertos altar will be packed with color and light to honor my beloved dead.

Remembering the beloved dead~SkaDaMo2014

Remembering the dead has always been hard for me.

My latest loss coincided with Halloween and Dia de los Muertes and that has made it oddly easier to bear. I had a ready outlet for art therapy.

DayoftheDeadweb  Diadelosmuertesweb

I began by memorializing Tula, and then, needing even more therapy, I moved on to Georgie and Chihiro, and Queen of Heaven.

georgie

The blazing hot palette set me free.

queen   deadkitty

Finally I painted this regal, reclining cat.

Recliningcatweb

May they all find a home in the Happy Hunting Ground

#SkaDaMo2014