Dia de el Monkey

The very talented painter, Rachael Rossman, created this portrait of our friend Monkey (Moi LeSinge). If you recall, several months ago, we featured Rachael and her kickstarter project. Since then she's had over 120 requests for Dia de los Muertos style portraits. You can see some of those in her online gallery, as they are being completed.

When I saw that Monkey and Rachael had shared this painting on Facebook, I automatically knew it deserved to be shared on Skull-A-Day. Monkey is a patron of the arts and dabbles in a little crafting himself. This painting captures the whimsy and spirit of Monkey, and shows off Rachael's watercolor skills nicely. It's not easy painting or being a white terrycloth Monkey.

Monkey Skull

Graham Miller created this "Monkey Skull".

I have a sudden craving for a banana. Thankfully, I don't have a craving for monkey brains ala "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". This cheeky monkey skull does look like both an invite into the jungle, and a warning to those who accept the invitation. Perhaps you will be lead to a temple...of doom, run by monkeys.

Skull Studies

Mary Sue Muscarella of Mary Sue Tattoo, submitted three great pieces. Here is her explanation of each.

The first is a sugar skull that I sculpted out of Plastalina.

The next is a charcoal drawing of a monkey skull.

The last is a study of multiple angles of a monkey skull in charcoal.

I like how each of these are different, yet incorporate the same subject, a skull. Sculptures always fascinate me, because they are a hands on approach to art. With clay, you have to use your hands to mold the medium to your desired form. This clay interpretation of a traditional sugar skull is neat to see, since sugar skulls are one of my favor parts of Day of the Dead. The charcoal drawings of the monkey skull are fascinating. Primates are my favorite animals...well next to Giraffes...because they are very similar to humans. Here you can clearly see the differences that a monkey skull has to a human skull. The head looks more elongated and with more crevices and shaping. I love the use of shading to show off these details. I have a replica of a human skull that I use for many Skull-A-Day projects, so I like seeing how someone else makes art using a physical skull for reference. All of these are wonderful. Keep making more beautiful art!