Dia de la Abby: #85 La Calavera Catrina Doll

A few years ago, I started making a La Calavera Catrina doll. I crocheted the doll, but never finished decorating it. Last week, I starting participating in a 30 day drawing challenge. Today's challenge was "Dolls or Puppets", so it was the perfect time to play with finishing up my doll concept. I drew everything with a pencil, inked it, and used colored pencils. To see what other projects I'm working on, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Crafty Lady Abby. To see the other 84 skulls I've created over the years, go here.

Broken Skull

Eric Dinse from Naperville, IL told us about his drawing.  He said: "I have enjoyed the many drawings and artwork seen on your site, so I would like to submit one of my own.  I am an artist who works with colored pencils and markers"

Fixed C says:

I am a huge fan of creating art on black paper.  There is just something out of the ordinary about it that allows you to push the boundaries of what you can achieve.  Thank you for sending in your work and allowing us to share it.

Sugary Smile Skull

This smiley sugar skull drawing done with ink and colored pencil comes to us from Ty Hunsicker in Akron, Ohio.

Of course all sugar skulls carry an extra wide smile.  You would too if you had such a sweet name.  Although, I'm fairly certain that there may have been a girl named Candy somewhere that may have worn a frown at some time.  It's possible, just like anything else.  Thanks for sharing this sweet smile to brighten our, and Candy's, day, Ty!  

Dia de la Abby: #70 Skull Mail

Recently, Wenchkin and I decided to trade mail art. She made me this piece, so this is my art for her. It will be mailed off today.

I made this mixed media piece using water color paints, water color pencil, salt, ink, flower images from a gardening magazine, and thread, on water color paper. I wanted to do something reminiscent of the sugar skull and flower styles in past pieces, but with layers of patterns, mediums, and texture. To find out how I made this piece, read the tutorial.

Every other Thursday in the 5.0 year, I will post my own Dia de la Abby creations   Every Thursday in the 4.0 year, I posted my Dia de la Abby creations and occasionally tutorials with instructions on how I made my pieces. Hopefully you feel inspired by my posts just as I was by Noah's Skull-A-Day 1.0 daily project. Need more of me than just a weekly dose, follow me on  Facebook, Google+ and/or Twitter.

Alien Architecture Skull

Graham Fisher is a custom tattoo artist from Virginia specializing in realism and surrealism. He explains, "This is a skull I did in color pencil, its 20"x15" on illustration board, it took me 23 hours to complete, it is titled 'Alien Architecture'."

Close up

I like the fine cracks and smooth bone holes that look like reduced bone density. The shading in the hollows of the bone give it a sunken and warped look. This skull seems to be decomposing past the fleshy state.

Dia de la Abby #37: Overlapping Skulls

I want to make something with overlapping skulls in a cartoonish sort of way. This is a similar idea to Noah's 45 Minutes of Skulls. The color choice is because my best friend, Kit McSmash loves bright colors. The colors are brighter than this in real life. Her birthday is today, so I thought I would make her something special in honor of her. This took a lot longer than anticipated...about 6 hours, which was mostly coloring time. This isn't a hard project, but coloring in all the shapes is time consuming. A larger skull template for the overlapping would cut down on the amount of small spaces to color...hence cut down on coloring time. To find out how I made this, follow the tutorial.


Every week in the 4.0 year, I will post my own Dia de la Abby posts as well as a tutorial with instructions on how I made my piece. Hopefully you feel inspired by my posts just as I was by Noah's Skull-A-Day 1.0 daily project. Need more of me than just a weekly dose, follow me on Facebook.

El Refresco Skulls

Sangrita surely knows how to make a calavera's night come to life with this wonderful colored pencil drawing titled "El Refresco".


I love the idea of an outdoor taberna serving the lonely hombres their lively liquors from a fellow calavera. It kind of gives a new meaning to the phrase, "This rounds on me!" Thanks for brightening our days, Sangrita.

National Airborne Day August 16th

Marco "Kanibal" Almengor, a frequent commentator here at Skull-A-Day.com, sent us a piece he did for National Airborne Day.

He wrote: “I have been an avid follower of your great site for a few months now. August 16, 2009 is National Airborne Day. In honor of the great men and women who served this great country and have sacrificed their bodies and lives in many theaters around the world, I designed this art piece. I served in the Army for ten years and spent the last five as a paratrooper... All The Way!”

"Hook Up" 9" x 16" Acrylic,Ink,Charcoal,Colored pencil,Coffee on Bristol broad.


Detail:

Strategic C says:

Thank You for submitting this piece to help us remember this important day. I never could have imagined how popular Skull-A-Day.com is among those serving in uniforms. You can see another posting about those serving in uniform by the Skullmaster here.

C-Rations: 0C11

This week's offering is colored pencil on cardstock.

Civil Conflict: 8.5" x 11" colored pencil and gold-flecked handmade, colored paper on colored, textured cardstock in honor of those who have died in the Iranian protests and those fighting for their voices to be heard

Caspian C says:

Today's skull represents both the tragedy of the Iran's violence against its own people and the danger of a society in which people are unable to exercise the right of free speech. The color green is being used in the protests to show solidarity with candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi as well as to symbolize Islam.

Remember each Monday during the 3.0 year I am posting an original skull design. My weekly offerings are nothing compared to the one-a-day massive project done by the Skullmaster in 1.0, but hopefully you will find some nourishment in these weekly offerings.