PINTOS ANIMALES An Ode to Death by Sarah Beagan

Start: April 29, 2016, 11 p.m.

End: April 30, 2016, 2 a.m.

Join us for Artwalk Gainesville, Friday the 29th of April for the Opening Reception "PINTOS ANIMALES" An Ode to Death by Sarah Beagan.

“Pinto flores, así no mueren.”
Trans. “I paint flowers so they will not die.”
-Frida Kahlo
Over the years, my artwork has included a mixture of nearly every medium, including ceramics, painting, illustration, and photography. I was first introduced to the art of pyrography two years ago, and I have created several wood burnings depicting a variety of images, from portraiture to recreations of traditional tattoo images. It was around the same time that I also began collecting taxidermy and animal bones; thus began a natural progression into combining the two forms. All of my animal specimens are acquired legally and ethically, either through selling and trading with fellow ethical taxidermists or collecting and cleaning bones from the wild. A common misconception regarding taxidermy is that the medium is morbid and glorifies the death of animals, whereas I seek to achieve the opposite reaction: I wish to honor the lives of animals that might otherwise be cast aside or left to decompose on roadways. Pinto animales is my ode to Death, a celebration of nature and a colorful nod to that eternal resting place.