NEONDEATH+

Roughly 10 x 18 in.

A decorative mask for display that represents my idea of death personified.

I see Death as something alien to us... not from this world. I picture blue skin; the color of sadness. there are two rib like bones sticking out of either side of their face that resemble sideways halos. Death has dark black fur, which is really years of dried blood; originally white and fluffy. Death has two huge piercing eyes that could see all. Two giant crosses make up Death's iris' representing order and the sacred. there is a huge broken sword in the mouth of Death, which hints a hero may have come close to killing death itself. The idea was to create a eerie familiarness which is was death is... It's dark but vibrant, a close friend but a distant enemy.

I started with a store bought paper mask from Micheals, and a foam head. I used the head for measuring purposes only, and cut the paper mask to the intended shape I wanted. I then built off of the mask using newspaper and masking tape to create dimension. After this, I made a glue / water mixture and cut newspaper strips, so I could paper machete what I had built. When dried, I covered everything in gesso, so it could later be sanded down for a smother surface. I used 3 different grit papers between 100-220 grit for this. Once sanded, I used Liquatex acrylic to paint my mask. The smaller lined details were done in paint marker. I covered the sword portion in silver leaf to break textures in the piece. I then added faux furs to the antler ears and mane to create the illusion of hair. Lastly I used feathered and neon drag queen lashes from the beauty supply for, well, the lashes.