I imagine that most of you have heard of the catrines at least once, if not, perhaps you have seen some image of such peculiar characters. And if that's not the case either, then I'll make a more recent reference; last year, Disney Pixar released a film set in Mexico called Coco.

This film is inspired by the Mexican festival of the Day of the Dead, a celebration in which Las Catrinas have an almost leading role, since over the years they have been used as a representative figure of death, but their origin does not come from there. This goes back (as I read) to the governments of Benito Juarez, Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada and Porfirio Diaz.

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"In these periods, texts written by the middle class that criticized both the general situation of the country and that of the privileged classes began to become popular. The writings, written in a mocking manner and accompanied by drawings of skulls and skeletons, began to be reproduced in the so-called combat newspapers. These were skulls dressed in gala clothes, drinking pulque, riding horses, at high society or neighborhood parties. All to portray the misery, the political mistakes, the hypocrisy of a society, as is the case with "La Catrina".

"The word "catrín" defined an elegant and well-dressed man, accompanied by a lady with the same characteristics; this style was a classic image of the Mexican aristocracy of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For this reason, Diego Rivera turned "La Calavera Garbancera" into "La Catrina" by giving him such a costume".

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One of the most artistic ways I've ever seen of depicting death. This iconic Day of the Dead figure opens the minds of millions of artists who make diverse and magnificent designs on people's faces and express their art through this famous character of Mexican culture.

On this occasion, I joined them, and although the design was not a product of my imagination, it was my brush that made the strokes for it.

Made on a 28 x 34 cm watercolour card and painted with faint colours that give it a bleached and gloomy appearance...

Step 1

After having made the relevant sketch of the painting, I dedicated myself to molding the face. At this point, I didn't do the details of the cheeks and forehead, I just focused on the eyes and part of the neck.

In these areas where shadows are so subtle, it is important to dilute the paint well.

Have a sheet of paper handy for them to test if it is the shade they are looking for before applying it. This avoids a lot of bad times. XD

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Step 2

The hand was the part I most enjoyed painting. I really liked the fact that she looked so bony and was holding scissors.

The metal requires thick, dark strokes contrasted with sometimes very light strokes to achieve the effect.

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Step 3

Next was the hair and the flowers that adorn it. This time it didn't give me so much trouble, I figured it was because of the fact that it was jet. I put the color in specific areas of the painting and these were not vivid tones.

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Step 4

The background design of the previous image was a personal touch on which I added a dark tone to enhance the pale skin of La Catrina. This gave a slightly different touch to the original image.

For the light-dark effect of the background, I diluted the blue color towards the periphery and the black towards the center until they met each other.

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Finally

The expected comparison with the Original Image:

I really liked the result. I had to put patience into practice but I enjoyed painting it a lot. There will always be details and points to improve (which I am willing to do) but this time I was satisfied.