Amor eterno y musica

From drawing to lino block to ink on paper in 4 hours

Day 306: Romeo & Juliet Linocut

Oh, Google. No “Day of the Dead” kickass homepage drawing? No stupid election day graphic? Not even an interesting combo of the two? I’m disappointed. Today I decided to make my still-sick-self create something with my hands. In honor of Dia de los Muertos, I decided to finally do some skull art. But I wanted a starting point.

I thought about it as I drove to my polling place today, listening to an instrumental version of Radiohead’s “Exit Music for a Film” on my car cd player. This song was specifically written for the end of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet. I got choked up thinking of how powerfully beautiful and sad the song is at the same time.

When I got home, I decided to do a Romeo & Juliet/ Dia de los Muertos linocut. I clearly forgot how long linocuts take to make, but once I’d bitten it off, I figured I should chew it all even if it meant several hours of shoulder pain. Sugar skulls aren’t really my thing, but the woodcut medium really lends itself to the style, and I’m happy with the end result.

"Romeo & Juliet", a linocut

Listen to the original version here. Listen to the instrumental version I was listening to today here. Read about this song that apparently helped Marilyn Manson decide against suicide by cliff jump here.

Advertisement