t's DONE. *collapse*

Muerta Rosa ('death rose') is a large tabletop art piece built around a cruelty free whitetail buck skull that I cleaned and processed myself.

The skull has been airbrushed in deep black with silver and gunmetal accents drybrushed into all of the sutures, crevices and edges of the bone (as well as the beading and graining of the antlers) to bring out the details. Metallic green vines adorned with handmade leaves and black-tipped thorns crawl over the skull and one antler, winding in and out of eye sockets.

The crown jewel of this piece are the handmade red roses that bloom upon it. They are touched with a little shimmer here and there, and although you can't see it in the photo the largest rose has a scattering of tiny clear acrylic 'dew drops' on the petals.

The ornate stand that supports and accents the skull is made from antiqued brass and reclaimed walnut wood. The skull rests on the curled brass 'vines' that are custom shaped to hold it, and is not permanently attached to the stand.

As a whole this piece is 22+ inches tall with the skull coming in at 12 inches long with a 15 1/2 inch inner antler spread. The antlers have some nicks and one broken tine from rutting fights with other bucks - normally I would repair such damage and make it 'disappear' before painting, but this time I wanted the buck's life to show in the finished piece. So the battle damage stayed to tell the story of his final year.

Roses, leaves and vines made with polymer clay. Muerta Rosa is reserved (one of my frequent fliers yelled "MINE!" while he was still just a concept drawing!) and NFS.