Corazón, full set Blythe with glow in the dark paint, 2014.
Unoa Quluts sleeping face plate, 2007.
It began quite simply.
In 2007, I had an extra sleeping Unoa Quluts face plate. I decided to sell it, but thought it should be painted to (hopefully) increase her value. I had recently found the work of Sylvia Ji, a brilliant artist who had done a series of paintings of women painted for Dia de los Muertos, and the holiday was coincidentally approaching. I tried my hand at replicating that style of face paint on the face plate I had and was pleased with the result. I sold the face plate and custom outfit on eBay. At the time, many people were unfamiliar with Dia de los Muertos or Calavera face paint and I fielded a lot of questions about the holiday and tradition. She got a great response, but I felt that she was just a bit of an oddity some people loved and some people didn't quite get.
At the time, I was taking commissions to paint dolls. Soon, a friend asked me to paint her sleeping face plate as a Calavera. I was happy to revisit the style. Over the next few years, customers would commission Calaveras occasionally, first only for optional sleeping face plates, and then for regular heads. In 2010, a customer asked if I could paint a Blythe as a Calavera. I didn't think it would work! Blythe has an obviously huge head to body ratio and her very simplistic features are in odd proportions on her relatively flat face. I tried it out and the things I was concerned about made Blythe Calaveras possibly more endearing. The size of Blythe's head allowed for more details and her multiple eye colors and closing eyes added a whole new dimension to the work.
Calavera commissions soon became my most requested work. I painted Blythes and ball joint dolls as well as Pullips and Monster High dolls. While I still enjoy painting them, I had to stop accepting commissions because I could not keep up with demand and because I wanted to respect this imagery, which has such a rich, beautiful and meaningful history. I want my dolls to always honor Dia de los Muertos, which is about celebrating life while remembering death. It is a powerful message which is at the heart of many stories. When I create a Calavera, I like her to tell her own story.
In 2007, I had an extra sleeping Unoa Quluts face plate. I decided to sell it, but thought it should be painted to (hopefully) increase her value. I had recently found the work of Sylvia Ji, a brilliant artist who had done a series of paintings of women painted for Dia de los Muertos, and the holiday was coincidentally approaching. I tried my hand at replicating that style of face paint on the face plate I had and was pleased with the result. I sold the face plate and custom outfit on eBay. At the time, many people were unfamiliar with Dia de los Muertos or Calavera face paint and I fielded a lot of questions about the holiday and tradition. She got a great response, but I felt that she was just a bit of an oddity some people loved and some people didn't quite get.
At the time, I was taking commissions to paint dolls. Soon, a friend asked me to paint her sleeping face plate as a Calavera. I was happy to revisit the style. Over the next few years, customers would commission Calaveras occasionally, first only for optional sleeping face plates, and then for regular heads. In 2010, a customer asked if I could paint a Blythe as a Calavera. I didn't think it would work! Blythe has an obviously huge head to body ratio and her very simplistic features are in odd proportions on her relatively flat face. I tried it out and the things I was concerned about made Blythe Calaveras possibly more endearing. The size of Blythe's head allowed for more details and her multiple eye colors and closing eyes added a whole new dimension to the work.
Calavera commissions soon became my most requested work. I painted Blythes and ball joint dolls as well as Pullips and Monster High dolls. While I still enjoy painting them, I had to stop accepting commissions because I could not keep up with demand and because I wanted to respect this imagery, which has such a rich, beautiful and meaningful history. I want my dolls to always honor Dia de los Muertos, which is about celebrating life while remembering death. It is a powerful message which is at the heart of many stories. When I create a Calavera, I like her to tell her own story.
Blythe Calavera commission #1, 2010.
Blythe Calavera commission #7, 2011.
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Blythe Calavera commission #4, 2011.
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Blythe Calavera commission #2, 2010.
Doce, full set Blythe, 2013.
Pullip Calavera #1, 2010.
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Blythe Calavera commission #10, 2012.
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Monster High Skelita Calaveras, 2013.
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Monster High Create-A-Monster Skeleton, 2012.
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Trece, full set Blythe which was part of a Halloween group show at Auguste Clown Gallery in Melbourne, Australia, 2014.
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Blythe Calavera commission #9, 2012.
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Amapola, Blythe Calavera commission, 2016.
You can view many more photos of these dolls as well as other Calaveras I have painted in My Flickr Album