The Floating Coffin

I’ve done many Day of the Dead pieces in the past few years, but this is the first that incorporates coffin imagery. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while, but didn’t quite have a concept. There’s just something hauntingly beautiful about caskets to me, and I wanted to visually communicate that.

This is the largest drawing I’ve done to date at 24 x 36″. I didn’t skimp on detail, so it was a lengthy process of drawing, inking and coloring. Working this large necessitated some alterations to my process and workspace to accommodate it. I drew an 11 x 17″ sketch and then used a grid to transfer the composition to the full size; this helped in getting the body proportions right and eased the overall drawing process.

Originally I wanted the coffin to be filled with flowers and an assortment of trinkets like toys, charms, and other knick knacks. But ultimately the composition proved to be completely full, so I concentrated on the flowers. There is an assortment of flora native to Latin America such as roses, marigolds, dahlias, chrysanthemums, and daisies.

I never really tire of creating Day of the Dead art, but if I were to quit doing it, I think this piece would be a nice finale.

Buy prints here:
www.nicholasivins.com/2014/08/…