Mardi Gras World

Mardi Gras World is (hopefully still is after Hurricane Katrina passed through) a repository of carnival heads and other oddities in a large hangar-like structure in a suburb of New Orleans. I was there some years ago for a convention when I saw this at the entrance, an alligator head placed surreally in a suburb of Shotgun Shacks (maybe the subject of a painting to come). I have darkened everything but the sky for atmospheric effect and also to try and hide the alligator head tonally within it's surroundings so that it is hopefully not seen immediately on first viewing. I chose a complementary colour axis of basically yellow and violet, the greens and blues have a lot of violet mixed in too. I am planning to enter this for The Discerning Eye art competition/exhibition at The Mall Galleries in London. 16" x 16" oil on canvas.