Day of the Dead Cowboy
The artist and her son first began celebrating Day of the Dead during his elementary school years. His school featured multi-disciplinary lessons in Spanish language, art, and music that honored the customs and culture of Mexico, and it became a new family tradition. This portrait is composed of acrylic and colored pencil on paper, cut out and applied to a background of various art papers, adhered to a birch panel, and sealed with a UV protectant.
Contact the artist: vivianmariewalz@gmail.com
Or see the artist’s website: www.vivianmariewalz.com
Width: 18in
Vivian Walz
I am fascinated by what a portrait can reveal about a personality. Facial expressions, poses, and gestures evoke emotional meaning, while clothing, hairstyles, accessories, and background can provide social and historical context. I am particularly drawn to children and adults in costume, and I hope the viewer is moved to wonder what is concealed and what is revealed through the act of disguise.
As references I use images I took as my children were growing up, photos from my own childhood, pictures I snapped during my many years of working in a school, and assorted family photos. I mix and match acrylic painting with colored pencil and graphite drawings to create highly detailed portraits on paper, which I then collage onto abstracted monotypes and adorn with wallpaper, fabric, buttons and found objects to create a relief on a cradled panel.
The portrait artists I most appreciate use paint and mixed media to tell a story that is both specific and universal. Hung Liu, Michalene Thomas, Khánh Lê, and Oscar yi Hou, are among my current inspirations.
My art background includes a lifetime of experimentation with media and techniques. In addition to drawing and painting, I have studied ceramics, textile arts, illustration, and printmaking. I have a BA in studio art, with an emphasis in sculpture, from San Francisco State University. I am a lifelong learner, and have continued to take classes in both studio art and art history at City College of San Francisco.
I am a member of the Art Guild of Pacifica, and volunteer and display my pieces at Sanchez Art Center in the Linda Mar neighborhood of Pacifica, where I will be showing my work during the Coastside weekend of the Silicon Valley Open Studios.
Email: vivianmariewalz@gmail.com
Website: www.vivianmariewalz.com
Instagram: vivianwalz
Facebook: vivianwalz
