This piece is a memento mori of sorts; I wanted to focus on the concept of decay, including urban decay and natural restoration. The piece holds some narrative. I wanted to depict death as monumental but in a gentle way. The figure painted to the left is an otherworldly soul, the figure admires mortality; this relationship is mysterious just like our own relationships with death. The concept of the soul is restorative to the bones we leave behind.
I used both digital collage and digital painting to produce this piece; I had to paint the lighting scenario by rendering the forms of the skull, ground, and surrounding environment. The figure is invented from imagination and digitally painted, as are the flowers, moss, and foliage in the eyesockets.