Todos Somos Calaveras ~ original painting

Todos Somos Calaveras (We Are All Skulls)
gouache on paper, framed
14.75x17.5 with frame (original measures 5x8)
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Oaxaca city is overflowing with skull imagery and death/rebirth Scorpio energy. I feel right at home there. This painting emerged after walking through an artisan market near Centro Square and encountering the ubiquitous carved skulls with flower crowns (called Catrinas) we associate with Mexico's de la muerte (Day of The Dead). La Catrina emerged in 1910 as artist José Guadalupe Posada's satirical lithograph of a skeleton wearing a fancy hat. Known as La Calavera Garbancera, she was a critique of Mexico’s elite society, mocking those who rejected their indigenous heritage in favor of European customs. Her elaborate hat and skeletal appearance were symbolic of this satire—no matter your status, in death, we are all the same, we are all skulls. The Datura Flower in this painting grows all over Mexico and, for me, symbolizes alluring beauty and dark magic of the poison path.