This commissioned nesting doll set proved to be much more difficult than i thought it would be. The Election 08 set i did was a much smoother process. Because the characters were celebrities and the pieces werent for them, i had a lot more freedom in my interpretations of their likeness. Because this was a present for the woman's sister, i really had to try and make them look accurate and somewhat cute. By the time you wrap anyone's features around the bowling pin shape of the dolls, they always look distorted and kinda weird. Its hard to nail a likeness when you cant change the shape of the face...but its still fun to try!

Grandma on the Farm 2

"Grandma on the Farm" 30x40in Oils on Canvas

I think its all done now...but still need to sign!

Grandma on the Farm

Here she (my grandmother) is after round three. Its really coming along and i especially like the depth in her eyes, i feel like her soul is really in there. She's truly an amazing woman and I'm glad the painting is of equal caliber. I'm going to add refine her hair and repaint her left ear lower to balance with the other side...but we're almost done!

I started a companion piece for the old man. This one is based of my Grandma. Here are the first two nights of painting

Old Man with Deep Eyes

I just got painting on a real piece again. The image is inspired from a photo i took of an old man on a subway train in Berlin last Christmas time. I felt bad for my wife who had to ask the guy if i could take his picture (my German is horrible). The canvas was a lot larger than most of the single portraits i do, and i was much looser in my initial drawing than usual. This will definitely be the direction my next series takes, less representational and a little more emotional. I love that he could either be a homeless man or God.



After the first round of painting



Here is the piece after about 30 min of painting, there was a light sketch underneith i freehanded in about 7 min while looking at his image on my computer screen

I few months ago i ordered some blank Russian sets to paint as various characters. With the buildup and excitement of this years presidential election, i found myself painting these the night before i voted. It took me a while to figure out how to depict them on the curved surface and still get the likeness down. They all pop open and swallow the smaller until they are all in Obama. The dolls are high quality woodwork, ordered from a manufacturer in Russia. They are hand painted by me and one of a kind and highly detailed...down to McCains short arms.
GO OBAMA!

I has started this portrait of my buddy Ricky for the Grace Ellay show but had never finished it until now. His birthday was last week so...Happy Birthday!