Calavera Quartet

Ace of Spades - spraypaint and acrylic on canvas
Did you know American soldiers in the Vietnam War would leave battlefields littered with Bicycle Aces of Spades? Bicycle made them custom decks and everything, 52 aces of spades in every deck. Psychological warfare, yo. Talk about creepy.

Kishi Kaisei - spraypaint and acrylic on canvas
I took at least fifty pictures of this painting alone in various locations and lighting setups. I played with them in photo editors for HOURS. STILL the red looks too pale and the skull looks too blue, and the blacks are not dark enough.
This is named for the Japanese phrase that is repeated over and over in the background. It means "Out of death, into life."

Surprise Party - spraypaint and acrylic on canvas
I forget who it was that said death is a surprise party, but I liked the phrase enough to name a painting after it. This one might be my favorite of the set, but I think they're all my favorite for different reasons.

Widow Paris - acrylic and spraypaint on canvas
Named for Marie Laveau because the colors reminded me of New Orleans.
The crackles happened because I piled on the white paint super thick and then got really impatient and used a hairdryer to make it dry too fast, but I like to tell people I made it crackle on purpose. It ended up being one of my favorite aspects of this painting.