Skull pictures are usually black. Blue Flame Skull is pale: an ice-blue skull on a silvery ground, with ribbons of dark blue fire round it and two bright eyes. It is closer to frost than to a furnace. It is one of the most popular kinds of subject in dark art, done in an unusual key. This post looks at it closely.
What is in the picture
A human skull fills the frame, seen from the front and very slightly from the left. It is drawn in pale blue and white, like ice or glass, with deeper blue in the hollows of the cheeks and round the jaw. Fine cracks run across the forehead. The teeth are clear and even. The nose cavity is white.
The eye sockets hold the surprise. Each one glows a bright aqua, and in each there is a white X. It is the crossed-out eye of a cartoon character who has been knocked out, placed in a realistic skull.
Round the skull, flames curl upward. They are a strong, dark cobalt blue, thin and wispy, more like smoke or ink in water than a blaze. They wrap the top and sides of the head and lick up from below the jaw.
The background is a mottled silver grey with touches of pale blue, like frosted metal or weathered concrete.
Why blue fire
A blue flame is hotter than a yellow one. The yellow of a candle comes from glowing soot. A flame with enough air, like that of a gas burner, burns clean and blue. So blue fire is the hottest ordinary kind, though it looks cold.
It also has a long history as the colour of the uncanny. The will-o'-the-wisp of European folklore is a pale blue light seen over marshes at night, said to lead travellers astray. In Japanese tradition, small blue-white flames called hitodama are the souls of the dead, and blue fox-fire is the work of spirits. In games, films and comics, blue flame nearly always means something supernatural: ghost fire, soul fire, cold fire.
So the piece joins two things that mean the other world, a skull and a blue flame, and the result reads as a spirit more than a corpse.
The crossed-out eyes
The X for an eye is an old piece of cartoon shorthand for a character who is dead or stunned. In the last twenty years it has become a signature of street art and designer toys, and it is all over streetwear. Putting it in a carefully drawn skull mixes two styles: the realistic and the cartoon. It gives the picture some humour and stops it being solemn.
The eyes are also the brightest thing in the picture. They glow like lamps, and the gaze goes straight to them.
The tradition behind it
A skull with flames is a classic image. It belongs to hot rods, motorcycle clubs, heavy metal sleeves and tattoo parlours, where it stands for speed, danger and defiance. Further back, the skull in art was a reminder to make good use of a short life. See skull art that isn't morbid: a short history.
This piece keeps the subject and changes the temperature. The usual flaming skull is red, orange and black, and it is aggressive. This one is cool, pale and a little eerie. It is the same idea, moved from the garage to the ghost story.
How the composition works
- Frontal and central. The skull faces you and fills the frame, like a portrait or a mask. It is direct.
- One colour. Blue, from near-white to deep cobalt, with silver grey. A picture in one colour holds together and is easy to place in a room.
- Pale subject, dark flames. This reverses the usual scheme, in which a bright fire surrounds a dark skull. Here the dark blue flames frame the light skull and make it stand out.
- Two bright points. The eyes give the face life and give the picture a centre.
- Movement round stillness. The flames curl and drift. The skull is fixed.
The mood
Cool, eerie and a little playful. It has attitude without anger. It is a dark subject in a light picture, and for many rooms that is easier to live with than black.
Where it works
- A games room, a den or a setup. Blue is the commonest lighting colour, and the piece matches it. See game room and den wall art.
- A music room, a garage or a workshop. The skull and flame are at home there.
- A teenager's room or a dorm.
- A tattoo studio or a barber's. See wall art for a small business.
- A grey, white or blue room. The silver ground and the blues sit easily on all three. See wall art for grey walls.
- October. It is a fine Halloween piece that doesn't need putting away in November. See Halloween wall art that works all year.
A skull isn't for every room or every visitor. Think twice about a dining room or a guest room.
What to pair it with
- Blue Crow. A black bird lit in blue on dark grey. The classic gothic pairing, in one palette.
- Wolf Pack. Two wolves in deep blue.
- Melted Skeleton Skulls. Chrome skulls under a halo, on black. See the canvas.
- Chrome and Blue. A silver and navy abstract. It shares the palette exactly and has no subject, so it doesn't compete.
- In the room: black, grey and steel, with blue as the only colour.
For more, see vamp romantic and whimsigoth.
The formats
This design comes in more forms than almost any other we make.
- Canvas. Portrait, from 11 × 14 to 40 × 60 inches.
- Framed poster. In black or white. Black suits it. See black frame or white frame.
- Matte poster.
- Tapestry. For a large wall.
- Desk mat. See the desk mat size guide.
- T-shirt. A skull is the classic graphic tee.
- Pin and keychain.
That makes it a good design for a matched set: the canvas on the wall, the mat on the desk and the pin on a bag. See desk mat and wall art pairings and wear the art.
We list more than one canvas and desk mat under this name. Look at the image on each listing before you choose, and go by the picture.
Hanging and lighting
- Centre it about 57 inches from the floor, so that the eyes are near your eye level. See the 57-inch rule.
- Hang it alone, or as the centre of a group. A face looking straight out wants the middle of the wall.
- Neutral or cool white light keeps the blues clean. Warm bulbs turn the silver ground beige.
- A blue LED strip behind the canvas suits it well. See RGB lighting and neon art.
As a gift
Know the person. For someone who wears skull rings, rides a motorbike, plays metal or collects street art, it is ideal. For others, choose something else. The pin and the keychain are low-risk ways to give it. Each piece is made to order, so allow 2 to 7 business days for production and 3 to 7 for US delivery.
Browse the canvas art collection for more.