A custom retablo to memorialize a loved one — stylized in the classic New Mexican and Día de los Muertos visual language.
The finished piece will honor the person’s likeness and life while integrating regional iconography and devotional format.
What you’ll receive:
A portrait-style retablo composition
Día de los Muertos elements: calavera or subtle sugar-skull stylization (if desired), marigold motifs, and integrated symbols per request.
New Mexican elements: Zia symbol, chiles, traditional motifs
Varnished finish to protect the surface.
Decisions to make (please specify)
Portrait source: a clear photo (front-facing works best)
Preferred color palette: traditional New Mexican earth tones (terra-cotta, warm sand, turquoise, deep indigo) or a brighter Día de los Muertos palette (vivid fuchsia, marigold orange, teal, gold accents). Or request a specific palette for your memorial.
Personal symbols to include: favorite flowers, objects, animals, hobbies, dates, or short text (name, birth–death years, a brief epithet or prayer). Indicate any religious iconography you prefer or wish to avoid.
Timeline and process
Draft sketch for approval: provided within 5–10 business days after receiving the photo and specifications.
Revisions: up to two small revisions to composition or color after the draft.
Completion: final painting completed within 3–5 weeks after sketch approval (varies by size and option chosen).
Shipping/pickup: local pickup in Santa Fe or insured shipping (shipping cost calculated separately).
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU:
Send a clear photo of your loved one.
Indicate choices for palette, stylization, symbols to include, preferred size, and any inscription.
Confirm any timeline needs so I can prioritize.
(2 hr): 12 - 2pm
Paint a small devotional panel on traditional piñon wood.
Inspired by the santero traditions of New Mexico, each retablo begins with gesso grounds, earth pigments, and the scent of warmed piñon resin.
Honor a saint, ancestor, protector, or personal symbol of devotion.
Working in the bold, quiet language of colonial New Mexican religious art, participants create intimate pieces shaped by color, reverence, and place.
A study in ritual, memory, and handmade tradition.
*All acrylic paints and supplies provided.
Did you love Dolly as much as I did? She was a beacon of kindness, love, and glamour.
Inspired by the santero traditions of New Mexico, honor Dolly Parton on traditional piñon wood, with some bedazzle, rhinestones, and cheap glitter.
An ode to Dolly Parton
*All supplies provided.
(1.5 hr): 6-7:30pm | August 8, 2026
An evening of distant bells and the last gilded embers of sunlight. Paint the city below as Santa Fe slips from gold into violet, and watch the mountains gather the colors of twilight like folded silk.
*Includes all acrylic painting supplies.
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