I’ve been told that if I draw or paint something really scary, it ends up with a smile or looking cute and my brother always tells me that. And that happens to me with my hand-drawn art, but not with my digital designs.
So I thought maybe I could bring out or show the sweet, cute side of Halloween, a holiday celebrated in many parts of the world. At one point, as part of Spooky Zone’s Community Month initiative, I thought about making a scary craft, but then I remembered what my brother always tells me, it wouldn’t turn out scary. On the contrary, I think there would be a touch of sweetness in the painting.
So I looked at the rocks I have at home and said: there’s nothing sweeter, at least to me, than cats. And right away I thought of a pumpkin with a black cat, perhaps inspired by my own cat, Cata. I don’t think these “rocks of kindness” will be scary, quite the opposite. Could it be that, despite all the stories surrounding this holiday, there might still be some kindness to be found? Perhaps some “rocks of kindness” on this theme?
I think that beyond the story’s origins, the most positive aspect is how children celebrate it, a symbol of innocence in the world. The children who, in some parts of the world, go out trick-or-treating, make any story about zombies, ghosts, cemeteries, witches, and monsters lose its power. Because there’s nothing in the world with more light and wisdom than children.
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Holidays and dressing up spark wonder in little ones, and I think that’s the message we need to hold onto, their sense of wonder, their smiles, the candy, and their sweetness; the purity of their souls and their innate wisdom about the positive and beautiful aspects of life. They see everything with a sense of wonder. How often do we talk about tapping into our inner child? It’s because as we grow up, so much of that is lost, and often even our hopes and that sense of wonder at the world.
That’s why I thought of pumpkins, but illuminated ones with a lovely smile, adorned with autumn leaves, since that’s the season we’re in here in Spain. On one, I placed a witch’s hat, but she’s a good witch. And on the other, a cute little black kitten with that look that lights up life, just like my own kitten did when I first got her fourteen years ago.
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First, I sketched the designs on the lightest-colored rocks I could find at home. Mental note: go to the beach to look for rocks.
As for the paint, I used the following colors: orange, yellow, dark brown, ochre, black, and white. I always use oil paint, and this time I used a black highlighter to define some of the thinner edges after finishing each rock.
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I painted the pumpkins first, leaving the eye, nose, and mouth holes for last. Then I added the fall leaves randomly, and finally the hat with the giant bow and the cat, which stands out the most since I later painted the background white on the darker rock. I used the fine-tip highlighter mainly on the eyes and mouth, since it wouldn’t have looked very good with a brush. I also used it on the outlines of the leaves and the cat’s eyes.
It was a lot of fun painting them, especially thinking about the message I wanted to convey. I think it doesn’t matter that I can’t physically give them to someone, the message is being sent through this post: a message about innocence, hope, tenderness, and the joy of celebration.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Warm regards to all of you. See you soon. Amonet.
All photographs are my own.
