I have been fascinated by Mexican ex-voto paintings since I first saw them twenty years ago at the Tucson Museum of Art. They are a type of folk art - a painting in oil on tin - thanking God for answering a prayer. Typically diminutive in size, they serve both as artwork and religious ritual.
I recently began my own type of ex-voto painting. They have less to do with prayer and are more about processing my grief over the loss of a friend. It has been a stretch - I don’t typically paint in oils; I don’t typically work on metal. But I kept an open mind and took out my very dear Old Holland paints for the occassion and I am finding it exciting.
Selections from this series will be on display in Massachusetts at the Dedee Shattuck Gallery this December. If you’d like to see more of these, I post frequent updates on Instagram @claudinemarcel.
Sunflower Ex-Voto #2, oil on aluminum. 4 x 6”