David Lozeau creates Day of the Dead art in a non-traditional way, injecting modern, Lowbrow style into the centuries-old Dia de los Muertos subject matter. He paints unique, expressive skeleton characters and layers enamel over acrylics and gouache to achieve fine details and a smooth, bright finish for his graphic novelesque presentation. This is his way of celebrating and paying homage to his favorite time of year.
The Day of the Dead takes place on November 2nd as a way to pay tribute to the departed. Similar to the November 1st Catholic holiday "Día de los Inocentes," which honors children or infants who have passed, el Día de los Muertos is steeped in the tradition of celebrating life through music, dance, food, art, prayer, and family togetherness.
Sentimental offerings, or "ofrendas," such as bread, toys, candy, flowers, and pictures are placed upon candle-adorned altars or graves as gifts to loved ones, while wood, clay, tin, and paper are transformed into whimsical skull masks and sculptures to exchange and display. Catrina, an elegant, skeletal woman made famous by printmaker José Guadalupe Posada in the early 1900s, is one of the most recognizable figures in the Day of the Dead holidays and still permeates and influences Mexican Folk Art today.
Millions of people around the world now celebrate the Day of the Dead and, in Southern California, it's easy to be inspired by the calaveras and orange marigolds woven into street art, intricate scrollwork pinstriped onto lowriders, and sugar skull tattoos inked onto body parts. Every year, you can find Lozeau live painting at events that highlight the historical and cultural significance of the celebration.
