Artist Gina Jrel

	© Artist Gina Jrel June, 2006 Angels Who Have Names Medium: Oil, acrylic, acrylic jewels, leather, metal, costume jewelry, glass beads, and antique skeleton keys on gallery-wrapped canvas Dimensions: 22 1/4"w x 30 1/4"h Edge Treatment: Gallery-wrapped edges are handpainted, and adorned with antique skeleton keys. No framing necessary. Framing: Unframed Private Collection / Mexico Available in Giclee: No   About the Painting: The inspiration for this painting came from casual conversation with a friend. Off-handedly, she mentioned a close-call to an almost mishap. She made the comment, "I must have someone looking out for me." This "guardian angel" idea spawned a series of thoughts for me. Most cultures believe that their dead ancestors continue living in some capacity, and that by staying in communication with them, or worshipping them, they have the power to, in some way, better the lives of the living. It got me thinking about how people cling to the idea of an afterlife, and the comforting thought that there are loved ones on the "other side" that look out for us, or have the ability to influence our lives. Inspired partially by the Mexican Day of the Dead, and partly by an artist trading card workshop held by artist Deb Holien last fall, I chose to make my guardian angel a skeleton, to show that the dead can be beautiful, magical and -- who knows -- maybe part of our lives. Oh yeah, thanks Marlene, for inspiring this painting and being responsible for this river of creative juices.