Frida Kahlo Inspired: Purple, Orange, Dark Pink

I confess that I had to google Frida Kahlo when the prompt for Junk Journals Junkies and Mindful Art Challenge 30 was announced.  The three colours allowed are Purple, Orange and Dark Pink.  I really can't paint faces, so I decided to work with a sugar skull representation of Frida.  My inspiration for the background came from a photograph by Nickolas Muray taken in 1938 (Frida Kahlo On White Bench).

I started with a 19.5cm x 18.5cm piece of Sheena's stamping card and gave it two coats of Dylusions Crushed Grape (applied with a blending tool), drying between each layer.

Using the Tim Holtz mini layering stencil (THMS077 Floral) from set 25, first in Bubblegum Pink Dylusions paint, then in Squeezed Orange Dylusions paint I added a floral background.  I made sure each colour was dry and cleaned the stencil before changing to the second colour.

I had die cut the Sugar Skull from the Day of the Dead collection by Sheena Douglass and stamped the heart eyebrows from the matching stamp set (upside down as it happens) using Magenta Hue Archival ink.  I used the same ink plus Monarch Orange to stamp some of the roses from the Roses are Red stamp set by Papermania (Docrafts) onto the rest of the card.

I coloured all the roses using my Dark Pink Kuretake Clean Color pen, the Carved Pumpkin Distress Marker and a water brush.  The roses were then fussy cut and edged in the appropriate coloured pen before being arranged around the top of the skull.

Before gluing them in place, I added further stamping around the eyes in Monarch Orange and coloured the skull, first with a layer of Spun Sugar, then with a layer of Shaded Lilac Distress ink and a blending tool.

The skull was then glued onto the background.

As I am a language teacher, I decided to add one of Frida Kahlo's more well known quotes in her mother tongue (Spanish).  I have seen several different English translations, but the closest is 'I tried drowning my sorrows in alcohol, but the damned things learned to swim!'  It was printed out using my Dymo Letratag in a medium font.  This is my third milestone in connection with my blog this week as it is my 400th post.