El Mariachi - Dia De Los Muertos Mixed Media Canvas

Hi friends!  I hope this finds you all well.  Today I have a new canvas to share with you.  I'm very excited about this piece because it's a first for me. Recently I was asked to do a custom piece featuring men and you all know I've only painted women right.  This piece is very important to me because it's for a family member so I wanted to get some practice in before starting their canvas.  I set out searching for images of men that inspired me and I found some great Dia De Los Muertos and mariachi photos to help me get started.  So here is my very first canvas featuring a man:

Meet "El Mariachi", this is a 30x24" canvas and it is for sale so if you're interest message me on FB or shoot me an email (artist.normagomez@yahoo.com).

I started out by stretching my sketching muscles in my art journal.

Then I moved onto building the background.  I used all types of acrylic paints and Crafter's Workshop stencils with Dylusions spray inks to create layers.

Once I was happy with the background I transferred my sketch to the canvas.  I used a projector for this part but I think I would have better off just sketching it again.  It was kinda hard to see my projected image and I ended up having to make lots of corrections to my sketch.  So I think it might have just been easier to sketch it on.

With the sketch down, I slowly began painting my mariachi.

Here's a side by side progression of my mariachi.  It's fun see the photos next to each other.  You can really see what it took to get to the finished piece.

Can I tell, I love the way he turned out!  I think he's very handsome and mysterious all at the same time.

Here's a closer look at the detail on his sombrero.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this guys so don't shy.  Good or bad, either way I wanna know what you think so please share.

If you're interested in a print, I'll be adding them to Etsy very soon so keep an eye out for that.

Thank you for stopping by and have a beautiful day, Viva El Mariachi!!

Prints now available on Etsy!

Muerta Linda Nicho - Dia De Los Muertos Shrine

Hi everyone, let's keep the shrines rolling!  I hope you're having a wonderful day.  I wanted to pop in and share another one of my new Dia De Los Muertos shrines.

For this shrine, I tried to experiment with different ways to create texture on metal.  The left side was my attempt at embossing on metal.

This shrine is adorned in roses, glitter and a Virgin Mary charm.

It also has a bit of bling and tinsel just for fun.

This beautiful little shrine is available for purchase over on Etsy.  Thank you so much for stopping by, have a beautiful day you guys!!

Hope - Mixed Media Assemblage - Dia De Los Muertos Nicho

Hey everyone!  I'm back to share another one of the nichos I've created recently.

I've been busy creating, posting to FB and Etsy but have fallen behind sharing here.  So I apologize for the blogging delay.

This beautiful little shrine reminds me of a cross between a mission and a window.

Hope just seemed to be perfect for this shrine.

I'm using Ranger's Patina line to paint my shrines.  The paint goes on great and I'm able to use acrylics on top of it with no problem.

Doodling just seemed like the way to go on this one.

I added some bling and jewelry findings from my stash to finish it off.  The beautiful broach up top is a vintage find from a local flea market.

This gorgeous shine is available for purchase on Etsy.  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a beautiful day!!!

Dia De Los Muertos Sacred Heart Shrine

Hey there, I hope you are having a fantastic day!  I wanted to share one of the nichos I recently created.  Nichos are small shadow boxes usually made of wood or tin.  They originated as a take on the Roman Catholic retablo tradition of painting saints.   So nichos are little shrines or mixed media assemblage pieces.  I really love working on these little guys and sometimes create my own out of cardboard and found objects.

So back in November during el Dia De Los Muetos, my husband and I did a little shopping in between all the festivals/celebrations downtown and I found these awesome tin nichos.

These are authentic tin shrines from Mexico.  I knew right away that they were PERFECT for my art.

I bought them all and then they sat in stash til recently.  I finally got around to working on them and I'm loving these little treasures.

The outside is painted and then I drew the flowers.  Next I added bling and the inside features a copy of my original canvas entitled Bendita Mujer.

I've created two more that I'll be sharing soon.  Thanks so much for stopping by, letting me know if you have any questions about my process or the products I used.

Take Care!!

Celebration Dia De Los Muertos Mask

Hey, hey, hey everyone!  Happy Friday!!!  I have a new Dia De Los Muertos mask to share just in time for the release of The Book of Life.  My son and I are so excited to see this movie.  I love seeing our beautiful culture making into the mainstream.  So go see it peeps!!

This guy has flaming suns for eyes, lol.  I wanted to give it a different shape since I always go with the scallops.  I have admit, once I did it I was like"hmm....I'm not sure about this".   But I believe in only moving forward on my projects so I kept truckin' and trusted that it would all work out.

Next came this shape and I was still like "I don't know".  So I decided to add bright colors and on went the magenta.

Once I began layering the bright colors, it really started to come together.

I made sure to tie in all of the colors for a cohesive look.

This mask is just so happy to me.  He is ready to celebrate!  If you're interested in purchasing this mask, click HERE.

Okay folks, I've gotta run so I'll let you go.  Thank you so much for spending a piece of your day with me.  Have a wonderful weekend!!

Courage & Strength: Dia De Los Muertos Mask

Hey, hey, hey!  I hope you guys are having a fantastic weekend.  I thought I'd share another mask with you guys tonight.

This one gets it's name from the sentiments on it.

I think this one might be my favorite so far.  I'm loving the sentiments and bold color combo.

I took a couple of short cuts on this one.  I used rubons for both of the sentiments but everything else is hand drawn and painted.

If you're interested in this mask, it can be purchased HERE.

All of the masks are listed in my Etsy shop, LittleHoneyBeeStudio.

Thank you so much for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Bendita Mujer, Blessed Woman

Hello, hello!  I'm excited to share my latest canvas with you.  The title of this piece is "Bendita Mujer" which means blessed woman.  The inspiration for the title and sentiment was the cross on her forehead.  So let me rewind things a bit to tell you the story of how she sprang to life.

I created this background in between projects to use up left over paints.  Love the pink against the blue!  So anyway, I had no plan for it.  I was just playing around and it sat to the side waiting for inspiration.

Then during the Peddler's Show, I sketched her out in one of my journals.  I love the way she turned out and knew she NEEDED to go on a canvas, lol.

I thought this background would be perfect so I sketched her out and started painting.

I changed a few things from my original sketch like her mouth.  I wanted her to be happy since she'd lived such a wonderful life.

The words are my own.  I thought of how a women was the heart and soul of her family.  I think my mother might have subconsciously been the inspiration for this piece.  It reads:

"Bendita Mujer, Luz de la famila.

Querida Mujer,

Bendita sea su presencia par siempre.

Querida Mujer"

Translation: Blessed women, light of the family.  Beloved Women.  Blessed be your presence forever, beloved women.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you've enjoyed my "Blessed Woman".

Have a beautiful, blessed day!!

Sugar Skull Mask: Orange & Green

Hey everyone, I'm back to share another Dia De Los Muertos mask with you!  This is the second one I've completed this season.

I usually start out with the eyes.  The whole design depends on the color I use on them.  Here the main color is green with accents of orange and teal.  I also mixed in a tad bit of red.

I really like the mandal/zentagle/doodled flowers so that's what I went for on this mask.  These types of flowers are so relaxing to create.  It's just a matter of adding layer upon layers of lines.  You should give it a try the next time you're sitting around waiting for your kiddos or at an appointment.

And of course I HAVE to add my flourishes, lol.  I love the fluid motion of creating them :D.

This mask can be worn or hung as decor.  If you're interested in purchasing this mask, you can find it in my Etsy shop here: LittleHoneyBeeStudio.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Have a BEAUTIFUL day, hugs!!!!