100 Painted Skulls: #32

To celebrate year 5 of Skull-A-Day I've decided to paint 100 skulls on 4 x 4in (10.16 x 10.16 cm) wooden panels over the course of the year...

I love letting the woodgrain of the panels show through. It requires that I use the acrylics more like watercolor paint and have to allow for the wood itself will be the lightest color in my palette.

You can buy this piece in the Skull-A-Day store HERE. 

Nevena Velisavljevic- “Skullcap”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Nevena Velisavljevic- “Skullcap” $200.00

For information on purchasing this work please contact the exhibit curator at:

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

100 Painted Skulls: #31

To celebrate year 5 of Skull-A-Day I've decided to paint 100 skulls on 4 x 4in (10.16 x 10.16 cm) wooden panels over the course of the year...

Nothing new here, just enjoying the experience of trying out different color palettes and brush techniques.

You can buy this painting in the Skull-A-Day store HERE. 

Skull & Corndogs

Brendan Simmons is the creator of this image of simple goodness, "Skull & Corndogs".



Now that I think about it, there's not much else you can say about this. Thanks for the tasty design, Brendan!

100 Painted Skulls: #30

To celebrate year 5 of Skull-A-Day I've decided to paint 100 skulls on 4 x 4in (10.16 x 10.16 cm) wooden panels over the course of the year... 

I haven't forgotten about this project! I just went through a really busy season of travel and finally have a few moments to get back to some quiet painting time.

If you want to buy this painting you can find it in the Skull-A-Day store HERE.

Skull Watch

Fiona Kruger submitted this beautiful and intricate skull watch to us. She explains why she made it. "I just graduated from ECAL/University of Arts and Design Lausanne from the Master in Luxury Industry and Design (MAS LUXE) and was hoping to get my watch published on Skulladay. This was my personal project for my Masters, which, after a couple of unsuccessful attempts at finding a company to help me make it, I decided to make on my own. I designed the watch by myself working directly with several suppliers and a watchmaker in order to get it made and managed to get it done in 6 weeks (thanks to the bank of 'mum and dad'!)."

"The piece is one I am very passionate about. My enthusiasm for it was shared by the diploma jury which included Maximilian Büsser from MB&F, London designer Michael Anastassiades, Hugo Macdonald from Monocle and Simon Andrews, 20th century design specialist from Christies London. They enjoyed the fact that it is a vey different looking piece, and also a project where I had to take a great deal of risk to get it done."

"I have attached images of the watch as well as the pages from my diploma catalogue relating to the work (this is a mixture of inspiration images and scans from my sketchbooks). Below is some text on the piece:"

"Memento Mori reinterprets the theme of mortality in horlogery, drawing inspiration from the 17th century skull watch of Mary Queen of Scotts, Mexican Dia de Los Muertos decoration and beautifully decorated skeleton movements found in today’s luxury watches.
The pieces of the skeletonised dial are layered to make up the form of a skull, echoing the layers which make up a mechanical watch movement. Each piece is decorated and assembled by hand resulting in a unique timepiece rich in tradition, know how and symbolism."

"Technical specifications:
Case: Solid silver, hand engravedCrown: Silver
Movement: ETA 2824 Mechanical movement
Dial: Gold and rhodium plated brass, laser cut and engraved
Hands: Blued steel
Glass: mineral hand cut glass
Bracelet: Blued Calf leather
Buckle: Silver
The photographs of the watch were taken by ECAL/Damien Ropero."

This is a truly a work of art and a beautiful piece of jewelry. I love the intricate open details of the skull that allow viewing of the clock work gears. Doing this in 6 weeks is an impressive feat. I find the sketches and photos from the design process as interesting as the final product. They give us insight to the layers and thought process in the creation of the watch. I love seeing this high level of artistry come into our mail box. It's a pleasure to share and view.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 5.29

Today’s simulacra are left overs destined for the trash.

First up is Jorn Ake who said: “This is a photo of found skull in the Waterworks faucet packing foam. I found it while workmen were destroying my apartment. It was a silly moment in a stressful day.”


Next Andrew D from New Zealand shows us: “This ghostly ‘nosferatu’ skull which is actually a random piece of silicon from an old mold.”


Today’s last simulacra comes from Georgiy Kuznetsov who found this piece of a cork.


Marjory C says:

Thank you all for capturing these simulacra in their glory before they end up in the great simulacra in the sky.

Keep sending those pictures in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only post simulacra once a week it might take a little longer than normal for it to be posted.

Super 3D(ish) Skull Saturday

This super Saturday skull collection comes from the U.K.'s Joe Murtagh. A collection of some real eye catching illustrations.











Intentional or not, these look pretty sweet through a set of 3D glasses as well. I like the blend of new school design with the traditional pin up style girls. Thanks for giving us something super to look at today, Joe!

Skull Stamps

Janos Gabor Varga of Blind Spot Jewellery has created a trio of stamps which feature skulls carved into Carrara marble.

* Pair made custom for Dauvit Alexander of The Justified Sinner

*Detail of stamp from above on the right

Chop C says:

These are all incredible pieces you have created. It is truly impressive to see that old skills, like hand carving marble, are still being practiced by artists in the world. It is fitting that you have chosen to carve skulls into marble, because the two seem inseparable since I am reminded of the skull imagery that appears on 17th century headstones. Thank you for allowing us to share this pieces with our readers.

[Flashback Friday] 5.28- 31. Plastic Bag Skull

Welcome to another addition of Flashback Friday.** This year the guest editors, Tatman, Azurafae, and myself, Citizen Agent, are taking turns reflecting on 17 of our personal favorite skulls from the previous four years of postings. So please join us as we visit the archives and add our additional commentary on some of the original pieces.

31. Plastic Bag Skull

PE-HD C says:

This skull came to mind recently as I shopped at my favorite convenience store named after a bird. About a month ago the store was aflutter with signs about no longer giving plastic bags unless requested by the customer. I thought this was a wonderful move since I was getting tired of asking not to have a bag when I got a drink and a bag of chips. I was happy to see a sense of responsibility was being placed on the consumer to cut down on their plastic consumption. Recently however, at check out, everything ended up in a bag and I paused for a second and realized that all the signs had since been removed. I casually inquired about the signs and was told that too many people complained about having to ask for a bag so it was easier to just go back to the old ways- no I wasn't in Amish country. Today's skull visualizes the death of a positive move to change our culture of convenience, a positive move that we should not just morn, but complain about giving into what is easy rather than staying with something that is tougher, but right.

**Flashback Friday was a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.0. Each week during year 3.0 The Skullmaster posted the original skull along with some additional commentary in order from lowest to highest rated, with the #1 skull appearing in the last week of year 3.0, all 52 can be found here. During year 4.0 the editors had their chance to countdown their favorites Azurafae HERE, Citizen Agent HERE, and Tatman HERE.

Jean Pokorney - “I Really Love You Except When I want to Kill You”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Jean Pokorney- “I Really Love You Except When I want to Kill You” $200.00

Jean Pokorny has been in the design field for over 20 years. She is Creative Director/Owner of Corn Design and serves on the board of AIGA Richmond.

Please visit the artist’s exhibit page for information on if this work is available for purchase.

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Skulls of Obsession

Jon MDC submitted these two skull paintings. He says, "Skulls are an obsession of mine and this year has seen me take a step back into fine art and begin painting again. I currently have a number of paintings and prints available previews can be seen on my Facebook or inprogress shots of most of the work can be seen on my Tumblr.

I like the decayed quality to these skulls. The intact teeth and fissures have been outlined, further defining the absence of teeth and delicateness of the skulls. It also adds a surreal cartoonish quality to the images. The use of medical crosses and potential death instruments make these more sinister, as the hint at a cause of death for these skulls.

White Chocolate Truffle Skulls

Designer Marc Brownlow submitted these tasty skulls. He wrote: “I thought you might be interested in my Halloween project. I sculpted little skulls from polymer clay, made molds from them with food-grade silicone and then used the molds to make skull shaped truffles. The white chocolate truffles have bittersweet centers and are topped with little candy-coated walnut brains.”

The whole step-by-step project was featured on Make:Projects. You can see that process HERE.

Sammy C Jr. says:

This is an absolutely awesome project. I am constantly in awe of the mufti-faceted talents that our readers have at their disposal. Thank you for sharing these tasty results with us as well as your easy to follow tutorial to try this at home.

Gretel Schwartzott- “Carta Obscura”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Gretel Schwartzott- “Carta Obscura”

Gretel Schwartzott- “Carta Obscura” $200.00

The child of 2 visual artists- Ms. Schwartzott received a BFA in Painting and Sculpture in 1993 from The State University of New York at New Paltz, after beginning a masters in Art History in New Paltz she decided to take time off and move to New York City. Settling in Brooklyn with a small group of artists from New Paltz, Schwartzott began showing work in group shows around Brooklyn and Manhattan, NY.

In 1999 Ms. Schwartzott began the Industrial Design Program at Pratt Institute. She honed her skills and began creating furniture inspired by bones fabricated from cast aluminum parts which were sculpted initially from wood. The pieces won several design awards and were shown at the ICFF in NY and the Salone di Mobile in Milan. Since graduation in 2002 she has been working as a contract designer in New York and continues to work in many facets of the design/art world.

Ms Schwartzott lives by the motto- “Draw Something Everyday” and two of her designed chairs can be viewed at Levelarchitecture.com.

Please visit the artist’s exhibit page for information if this work is available for purchase.

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Thea Duskin- “Caligari's Cabinet”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Thea Duskin- “Caligari's Cabinet” $300.00

Thea Duskin is the co-owner/ curator of Ghostprint Gallery in Richmond, VA. She has shown her artwork internationally, been published in many different fields, and staged many performance art pieces.

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Leather Cyclops Skull

This leatherhead cyclops skull is a custom crafted piece of work from leather worker Donny Mitchem (aka Sir Theas of Gwynedd, aka Donny of Hoodbridge).



And I couldn't pass on sharing this hilarious view...



This piece is as unique as the ancient monster himself. If I had to choose a leather skull for myself, this is the "one eye" would go with. Thanks for sharing your wonderful work, Donny!

French Skulls

Pascal Peris is a French artist, who makes and paints his own skulls.

I like all the details on the skulls. They remind me of life stories told on tombs through carvings and paintings. What tales could one skull tell if it's story was recorded on it? Amazingly adventurous ones I'm sure.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 5.28

Today’s simulacra are found on cars.

Christopher Shultz in Oklahoma City, OK wrote: “This is the stealing wheel of my '99 Pontiac Grand Am. I've been driving her for more than a year, and I only just noticed this the other day.”

VT thought of us when they saw this simulacra hoodie one morning.

Dominique Ferguson was on Target when she saw this “Very interesting repair work!” in the parking lot.


Wagen C says:

Thank you all for sharing your finds with us. As we start to get into the winter season around these parts, I hope there will be many more simulacra since snow and cars are ideal soul mates for simulacra.

Keep sending those pictures in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only post simulacra once a week it might take a little longer than normal for them to be posted.

Motivational Skulls

Today’s skulls are a by-product from two of the many recent lectures by The Skullmaster.

Jeannine Luby in Scranton, PA told us: “I heard Noah speak in Scranton PA in September and was inspired by his work. While on vacation in Williamsburg, VA I decided to create a skull from the shells I found at a beach along the James River.”


Cynthia wrote: “I just took Noah’s class during my MDC training over the last two weeks and when he was in Crotonville, we still had our masking tape art up on the wall. Well, as we were taking it down, I bunched it up into a ball and found myself forming this skull like shape. I really enjoyed the class. Thanks—”


C. Foley says:

It is wonderful to see how the Skullmaster’s influence is always paid forward in inspiring his past students. Thank you both for submitting you work for us to share. Also, if any of our readers who have been inspired directly by the Skullmaster or indirectly through one of the wonderful artists that we feature everyday, we would love to hear from you. Please send your work to our Submission Box.

[Flashback Friday] 5.27- Medicinal Skulls

Welcome to another addition of Flashback Friday.** This year the guest editors, Tatman, Azurafae, and myself, Citizen Agent, are taking turns reflecting on 17 of our personal favorite skulls from the previous four years of postings. So please join us as we visit the archives and add our additional commentary on some of the original pieces.

Today’s flashbacks of the medical nature were both previously posted on this date.

First up from the original project is the Skullmaster with 189. Skull-Aid

Arranged Adhesive Bandages (Approx. 13in x 11in).
This is made up of just under 300 bandages (plasters for you UK folks).

Next from Year 3.0 is Eric Collins an illustrator in NYC, who made this piece called “Death Pill.”

Full Work

Detail

E-Merg-N C says:

It is interesting that these two pieces work so well together yet they are separated by two years of posts. I find it facinating how these two pieces represent the double sided coin of medicine. On one side we have the things that could help you and on the other side is something that could hurt you, and don't be so quick to pass judgement on which is which. Some one with latex allergies could be hurt by the bandage, and the pill could be full of bacteria killing antibiotics that may help you.

PS. If you would like to own an original piece of Mr. Collins’ skull work, the piece he created for the Skull Appreciation Exhibit on June 4th this year, “What's Inside”, is still available. Not to be forgotten- The Skullmaster also has some original skull work for sale HERE.

**Flashback Friday was a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.0. Each week during year 3.0 The Skullmaster posted the original skull along with some additional commentary in order from lowest to highest rated, with the #1 skull appearing in the last week of year 3.0, all 52 can be found here. During year 4.0 the editors had their chance to countdown their favorites Azurafae HERE, Citizen Agent HERE, and Tatman HERE.