A Conversation with a Skull

It is no secret that the Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi [1] is one of my absolute favorites. I have introduced him before through some of his stories [2] and my own visual responses to them. Today, I want to share a story I consider one of his core teachings: The Death’s-Head. early graphic work of a skull with sepia and old ink pen The story speaks for itself and needs no further explanation. However, to keep things interesting for readers who are already familiar with the story, I am including a few of my older graphics, related to this topic. I did not create these out of a morbid fascination. Most of us occasionally think about death and, above all, what happens to us afterward. I handle the Daoist perspective quite well, and no one has illustrated it better than the great Zhuangzi. gestural drawing, reducing the subject to its most essential, energetic brushstrokes. The Death’s-Head Zhuangzi was traveling to Chu when he came across an empty, bleached skull at the side of the road.…