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Robert Collado — Día de los Muertos Artist | DayoftheDeadArt
Artist • Creator • Cultural Storyteller
Robert Collado is a Los Angeles–based artist, creator, and founder of DayoftheDeadArt.com, a growing cultural and educational destination dedicated to the art, history, symbolism, traditions, and remembrance of Día de los Muertos.
Robert's artistic journey began taking shape in 2006, when he created an early welded metal spiderweb from round steel bar. Inspired by decorative architectural forms and the geometry of a web, that first piece helped establish a visual element that would continue appearing throughout his artwork. Over time, the spiderweb became part of his personal artistic language—a symbol connecting people, memories, art, and generations.
From Metalwork to Día de los Muertos Art
Robert's work combines metalwork, calaveras, religious and cultural imagery, remembrance, contemporary design, and recurring spiderweb motifs. His approach is rooted in the belief that art can connect the living with the memories of those who came before them.
Rather than treating Día de los Muertos simply as a visual style, Robert's work explores the meanings behind its imagery—from ofrendas, marigolds, candles, photographs, food, papel picado, and calaveras to faith, family, cemeteries, music, storytelling, and community celebrations.
His artwork reflects both traditional influences and his own evolving interpretation of remembrance.
The Beginning of DayoftheDeadArt.com
In 2010, Robert founded DayoftheDeadArt.com with a larger vision: to create a place where people could discover Día de los Muertos artwork while also learning about the history, traditions, artists, and symbols behind the celebration.
What began with art has grown into a broader cultural project encompassing educational resources, artist information, ofrenda guides, symbolism, traditions, festivals, California history, classroom materials, galleries, and original creative work.
Robert sees the website as more than an online gallery. His long-term vision is to build a living digital resource where art, education, remembrance, and storytelling can exist together.
Art, Remembrance & the Spiderweb
One of the most recognizable recurring elements in Robert's work is the spiderweb.
For Robert, the web represents connection: one person connected to another, one generation connected to the next, and the living connected through memory to those who have passed.
That concept has become increasingly intertwined with his Día de los Muertos artwork and the philosophy behind DayoftheDeadArt.com—a worldwide web of remembrance where individual stories become part of something larger.
Preserving Culture Through Education
Robert's creative work now extends beyond individual pieces of art. Through DayoftheDeadArt.com, he is developing resources covering Día de los Muertos history, ofrendas, symbols and meanings, traditions, artists, celebrations, educational materials, and related cultural history.
The goal is not simply to display beautiful imagery but to help visitors understand why these traditions and symbols matter.
By bringing artwork and education together, Robert hopes the project can serve families, students, teachers, artists, collectors, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Día de los Muertos.
Building a Creative Legacy
At the center of Robert Collado's work are art, family, faith, remembrance, and legacy.
His vision is to continue creating artwork while building DayoftheDeadArt.com into a lasting resource that preserves stories, recognizes artists, teaches traditions, and encourages future generations to remember the people who came before them.
From a welded spiderweb created in 2006 to an expanding digital collection of art and cultural education, the work continues to follow the same underlying idea:
Everything is connected. Every person carries a story. And through remembrance, those stories can continue.
My El Camino Real Journey Through Faith, Art, Life & Purpose
Robert Collado’s El Camino Real Became a Sacred Path
For Robert Collado, El Camino Real became more than a historic road connecting California’s missions. Through his Catholic faith, his artwork, and the routes he traveled through Los Angeles to work and family, the road became part of his own spiritual journey. He began placing Sacred Heart artwork on telephone poles along those familiar paths. Some pieces disappeared quickly, while others remained for years. Over time, those roads became more than a way to get somewhere—they became Robert Collado’s personal El Camino Real, a sacred path connecting faith, art, family, and purpose.
The People Who Helped Shape My El Camino Real Journey
Several people became part of this journey without knowing how important their words or actions would become. At Starbucks I met a man wearing a black trench coat with the words “Compassion” and “Love” written across it. He inspired me to create a heart with a handle that someone could hold up and look through toward another person. When I returned home that same day, I stood at my gate and saw two hearts skywritten above me, something I immediately connected with the encounter. My mother also gave me the words that have stayed with me for years. When I questioned why I was surrounded by hearts and crosses, she simply told me, “You’re doing it for your soul.” Coworkers sometimes drove or filmed me while I placed artwork, and people at churches became part of the story as I began dedicating more of my work to my Catholic faith. Each person added something to the road I was already walking.
Recovering the Fallen El Camino Real Marker from the 101 Freeway
About five or six years ago, I placed one of my early Sacred Heart pieces on a telephone pole across the freeway wall from an El Camino Real bell marker near the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles. For years I passed that location and looked for both—the historic marker on one side and my artwork on the other. Then in 2026, while driving to work, I noticed the El Camino Real marker had been hit and was leaning sideways. I returned to investigate and eventually found that the bell itself was gone, but the arch and lower structure were still lying in the grass. I stopped, put on my hazards, moved the heavy remaining section over the wall toward the city-street side, took the next freeway exit, circled back, and recovered it. Today that surviving piece is secured at my shop. My friend Jose suggested turning it into a light, placing something where the missing bell once hung. I love that idea—a bell once marked the road, and now perhaps a light will.
Robert Collado: El Camino Real, Art & Saving the Soul
You’re Doing It for Your Soul” — The Message Behind the Journey
The deepest meaning of my El Camino Real journey comes back to what my mother told me: “You’re doing it for your soul.” There were nights when I was exhausted and felt like I could not finish another piece. On one of those nights, I told God I was tired and did not feel I could continue. Then the work suddenly felt effortless, my hand kept moving, and I finished. That experience made me understand how spiritual creating art could be for me. Since then, the Sacred Heart, the cross, skulls, spiderwebs, Día de los Muertos imagery, churches, roads, family, and faith have all become parts of the same journey. Years ago I made these things with my hands. Today I am also building DayoftheDeadArt.com with my memories, photographs, stories, and new tools. The medium has changed, but the purpose has not. I am still traveling the road, still creating, and still leaving something behind. I am still doing it for my soul.
Thank You for Helping Us Grow
Our Growth Journey — August 2026
DayoftheDeadArt.com continues to grow as a destination for Día de los Muertos art, history, traditions and cultural education. We are grateful to every visitor who has discovered and explored the site. In August 2026, organic search accounted for more than 70% of our recorded website sessions, marking an important early milestone in our journey. We’re documenting these milestones as we continue building a lasting educational and artistic resource for future generations.
