Day Of The Dead Girl Analysis

Mandee Stock’s painting, Ellie, depicts a young Day of the Dead girl. Stock uses acrylic paint on a canvas that is approximately 20x20” as her medium. At first glance, the painting may just appear to be nothing more than another Day of the Dead painting; however, upon closer examination the details turn it into something entirely different. Stock uses techniques such as: implied depth, color, and focal point to emphasize the innocence being lost in the young girl. Without these elements, Stock’s concept that innocence does not last forever, would be lost to the viewer. The young girl featured in the painting has two dark black braids down both sides of her head, and five flowers of various types and colors in her hair. The girl’s brown eyes is the main focal point for the viewer. The eyes themselves draw the viewer in not only by their size, but by the innocence that can be found in them. Furthermore, Stock surrounding the eyes in black, in order to create the Day of the Dead look, only helps bring the focus there. The young girl’s face is white except for the eyes, the star like object painted on her forehead, and the details surrounding the …show more content…
The dark background against the young girl helps bring out her details. The detail in the eyes can only be achieved with color. Stock highlights certain areas in the eye to create the look of innocence. Without this look in the eyes the deeper meaning of the painting is lost, and it becomes just another Day of the Dead painting. The various bright flowers in her hair also shows the innocence of the young girl. Flowers are commonly known for innocence throughout art and literature. By putting the flowers in the girl’s hair it helps the viewer see just how young the girl is. The bright colors of the flowers stand out against the dark hair and background. Therefore, the element of color is necessary to for the young girl to have her innocence