The sheep provide meat and wool as well as hides for the painters. The people have always used the hides to make drums and decorated them for these festivals and fiestas. Hide canvasses are prepared by first soaking the skin in water mixed with chlorine. After five days the wool is easily removed and the hide is washed with soap, dried and washed again to remove the odor. Finally, still wet, it is stretched over the drum ends or a wood frame.
Most painters use bright acrylic paints to minimize the toxic effects of enamel paints.
Andean Corpus Christi celebration. Click on picture for details. The paintings of Tigua depict village life against a backdrop of jutting snow-capped peaks and ice blue skies. Scenes of villagers herding sheep, harvesting crops or celebrating weddings and baptisms are popular. The giant condor is often depicted flying majestically over Cotopaxi, one of the highest peaks of Ecuador.