Catrina con mantilla

Measures: 54 x 41 cm / frame 20 x 20cm

The Catrina is one of those images that belongs to everyone in Mexico — you see her everywhere during Día de Muertos. But this one I wanted to paint as something intimate, not festive. Small canvas, baroque gold frame, turquoise background that vibrates against the flowers. The sugar skull makeup is precise, almost delicate, and the black lace mantilla grounds the whole thing in something older, more Spanish.

Two hummingbirds — one on each side — because in Mexico the hummingbird carries the souls of the departed. She’s not frightening. She’s just on the other side of something, looking back.