Post #416320 by Clysdalle on Thu, Oct 30, 2008 8:55 AM

Just a quick post...The San Diego union and North County Times just ran an article on my art in relation to the Day of the Dead festival coming up on Sunday...check it out....

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081030/news_1w30muertos.html

for those to lazy to click....

The light touch
Dark humor, taboo topics brighten David Lozeau's colorful paintings
By Marcia Manna
October 30, 2008

A skeletal bandit with a black mustache twirls a pair of smoking guns in one painting; bright orange marigolds bookend a skull with cavernous eye sockets in another. “Please Spare Me” is a work of art that uses a curvaceous bowling pin for a canvas and it's decorated with dancing skeletons wearing giant sombreros.

Advertisement
David Lozeau's colorful images embrace the sentiment of Dia de los Muertos, a day that pays tribute to the departed and rebels against the finality of death with celebratory festivities. Though the date coincides with the Christian tradition known as All Souls' Day, the event's history can be linked to ancient pagan corn festivals, when the fruits of a good harvest were used as offerings to the dead.

Lozeau's paintings – and works by Enrique Lazaro, Lori Escalera, Sal Barajas and others – will be showcased Sunday at Oceanside's Dia de los Muertos event. It's a Hispanic festival replete with brassy mariachi music and Mexican food specialties, Aztec dancers and ballet folklorico, an interactive chalk cemetery and a display of altars adorned with marigolds, the traditional Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, flower.

“I think dark humor and things considered to be taboo aligns with my sense of humor and personality,” said Lozeau, who is of French ancestry. “You don't see skeletons or that kind of imagery every day.”

Lozeau was born in New Hampshire and grew up with the habit of doodling skulls and similar sketches in the margins of his school notebook. During his boyhood, he was deeply inspired by cartoons and, after discovering an art book at the library, the late engraver José Guadalupe Posada, whose calaveras, or animated skeletons, poked fun at the politics of the Mexican Revolution.

After earning a bachelor's degree in graphic design from Keene State University, Lozeau moved to Southern California four years ago. He resides in Encinitas and works as a graphic artist.

“I focus mostly on the Internet with print and web design, but to be off the computer and paint is a great relief to me,” said Lozeau, 33, whose work reflects the lowbrow art movement, a form of pop surrealism inspired by underground comic book, hot rod and punk culture.

“I like to use recycled materials I find at thrift stores. I paint on old violins, silver platters and driftwood. I use One Shot Enamel, a paint used for filigree work on hot rods. It's very opaque and doesn't leave brush marks.”

People rarely buy Lozeau's work spontaneously. Typically, he said, they remember it and return months later to purchase a painting they can't forget. Though he dabbles in other artistic styles, he said his Day of the Dead art is his “best seller” and admired by a wide range of people.

“A concern of mine is that I don't want to poach someone's culture,” Lozeau said. “I try to understand it, and the response is great. It's a fun festival atmosphere with mariachi music and dancers. But you can't help but be moved by the people who have experienced loss, and you want to contribute in some way to the event.”