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Description
A companion to the “Muerta” one I did several years ago, this one is equal parts artistic exploration and transparent cash grab. Just kidding …mostly! “Muerta” is by far the most popular piece I sell, and it seemed not only logical from a business standpoint to craft another one to capitalize on that popularity, but a fun exercise and one of those poetic “full circle” things. You know, circles?

I’ve found the overwhelmingly positive reaction to “Muerta” interesting; it was the first Day of the Dead piece I ever did, and judging by sales, I seem to have gotten it right in the first try. Of course, I’ve done many since, and while many of them have proven to be very popular items as well, none have approached the popularity of that first one.

Far be it from me to vainly chase the runaway popularity of a beneficial fluke. Rather, I look at it as a challenge: can I top my own best? Probably not (especially not on purpose), but it’s fun to try.

I rarely re-draw things I’ve done previously, unless there’s something significant different I can bring to the second round. There are some obvious differences on this one – the subject is male (referencing the duality of my “Muerta Bride” and “Muerto Groom” pieces), and the dominant background color is blue. The border was done in the same style as before, but I put in the extra effort to fill the squares with unique things. Likewise, the objects surrounding the boy are different, but meant to mirror the ones in “Muerta.”

It was a fun exercise overall and am pleased with how it turned out. Studying my previous work closely was instructive as to how I approached drawing at that time (a little over three years ago); not significantly different, but with enough subtleties to initiate a small-scale bout of nostalgia for those simpler times before I had to worry about event fees and my stock of prints.

Buy prints here: www.nicholasivins.com/2013/09/…

Description
A companion to the “Muerta” one I did several years ago, this one is equal parts artistic exploration and transparent cash grab. Just kidding …mostly! “Muerta” is by far the most popular piece I sell, and it seemed not only logical from a business standpoint to craft another one to capitalize on that popularity, but a fun exercise and one of those poetic “full circle” things. You know, circles?

I’ve found the overwhelmingly positive reaction to “Muerta” interesting; it was the first Day of the Dead piece I ever did, and judging by sales, I seem to have gotten it right in the first try. Of course, I’ve done many since, and while many of them have proven to be very popular items as well, none have approached the popularity of that first one.

Far be it from me to vainly chase the runaway popularity of a beneficial fluke. Rather, I look at it as a challenge: can I top my own best? Probably not (especially not on purpose), but it’s fun to try.

I rarely re-draw things I’ve done previously, unless there’s something significant different I can bring to the second round. There are some obvious differences on this one – the subject is male (referencing the duality of my “Muerta Bride” and “Muerto Groom” pieces), and the dominant background color is blue. The border was done in the same style as before, but I put in the extra effort to fill the squares with unique things. Likewise, the objects surrounding the boy are different, but meant to mirror the ones in “Muerta.”

It was a fun exercise overall and am pleased with how it turned out. Studying my previous work closely was instructive as to how I approached drawing at that time (a little over three years ago); not significantly different, but with enough subtleties to initiate a small-scale bout of nostalgia for those simpler times before I had to worry about event fees and my stock of prints.

Buy prints here: www.nicholasivins.com/2013/09/…