Hola Xolo

'Hola Xolo' is a 12"x18" print made especially for Fireball Prints Masquarde show back in Nov.2019 with high-quality HP inks (fluorescent orange and metallic silver) on Andina Gray 100lb Cover Stock. I sketched and did the ideation the ol’analog way ✏️, but did the heavy lifting w/ Procreate and Adobe Fresco. Everything was exported to Photoshop of course, and I’m pretty comfortable with how everything worked together 👍.
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It's inspired by the Xoloitzcuintli an ancient, natural, and in my opinion, a distinguished breed of hairless dog that has cohabited w/ human going back 3500 years. There are a lot of Mesoamerican mythology and belief associated with the Xolo, including the role of guide to the Underworld, Mitchlan, after death. It's also believed that Xolotl, the God of Lighting and Death created Xolos. The Xolos are also seen as healers and protectors of humanity, makes sense to me b/c that’s how I feel about dogs in general.
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The show opened on Nov. 1st right in the middle of Dias de Los Muertos, so creating an #illustration inspired by the Xolo felt like the most natural direction for me to go. If I’m being honest, I love dogs and drawing them too, so that was most likely a subconscious factor as well.