"Santa Muerte"

"Santa Muerte" is finished.  Just like the last few pieces, this one took longer than I expected to complete.  While I was inking the sketch, I kept adding more details as more ideas sprang up.  Then during the color phase, once again, more ideas (subtle as they may be) kept coming.  At least, I knew the general direction of where I wanted to go in terms of the color scheme -- often, when the lines are inked, I have no clue what colors I want to use on them for the finished piece.

*A close-up partial view of "Santa Muerte".  The entire piece measures 8.5 x 11 inches.

I wanted to stay away from the predictable and expected look by working on this piece with black as the main color.  I wanted to explore the idea of making something 'dark' with 'slightly disturbing uneasiness' without relying on all the established notions and connotations of the color black.  I've always found white to be tricky to paint.  Nothing is just ever simply 'white'.  There are so many different 'shades' of white and any subtle change in lighting, surface texture, or reflected ambiance (and more) all affect the look of 'white' while we still see it as 'simply white'. ^^;  That said, I generally like the look of white-on-white, whether it's a piece of artwork or an item of clothing.  To me, subtlety like that is elegant and timelessly fashionable.

This was an interesting theme to work on.  I'm generally pleased with the way it turned out. ^^

For the largest view online, you can go to:
my deviantART page (just click on the image to enlarge) or
my Shadowness page (click on the 'zoom' button found below the image)