The Big Bang Theory Reduction

Sometimes good things do come in smaller sizes!

Here’s a mini version of The Big Bang Theory, with just the boys and Penny and at a smaller scale. Boy, I’ll tell ya, my 0000 brushes came in handy for this set!

This one was really fun to do because I got to include:

Sheldon Cooper with his Spock doll,

Leonard’s robot T-shirt,

Koothrapali and “Suri,”

Wolowitz in this kicky purple and checkered ensemble,

and PENNY PENNY PENNY!

The Darjeeling Limited Deluxe

Here’s even more Darjeeling Limited dolls! But this time I’m coming at you with a deluxe set:

This time I’ve added:

The chief steward who has a soft spot for Peter’s snake that he’s confiscated and

Rita, the comely stewardess.

Now, look what I found…

There’s a tutorial on how to make this Darjeeling Ltd. inspired train case. As soon as I get back to Oz, I’m going to dig up my one and have a go at this. It’d make a great storage case for my own Darjeeling Ltd. dolls…that is, if I ever get around to making one for myself!

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/travels-in-india-train-case/preview

For a Beastie Boy

I am willing to bet that just about 90% of New Yorkers around my age have a story or two to tell about the Beastie Boys. They’re our homeboys through and through. I was really upset to hear about the recent passing of Adam Yauch, one of the founding members of the Beastie Boys. Their music has, believe it or not, influenced some of my work, back when I was still messing around with children’s book illustration. I was so thrilled to have have seen them close out a Tibetan Freedom Concert years ago despite suffering from a severe case of dehydration and the most unflattering sunburn. I was fortunate enough to have met Adam (briefly) because my friend’s father worked as a doorman in the building he lived in. He did not fail to be pleasant and charming to my friends and me, even though he must’ve had all sorts of rabid fans hassling him all the time. What a great guy. He will be missed.

And so, here’s a tribute set to Adam and one of the best videos of all time…

Sabotage!

With:

Nathan Wind as Cochese

Alasondro Alegre as “The Chief”

and

Vic Colfari as Bobby “The Rookie.”

Seers of Fortune

It’s been a while since I got to create anything from my fevered imagination—not that I minded. But I did jump at a chance to paint these fine ladies of divination when the opportunity presented itself. I’ve done two sets with similar themes before, but I was happy to do another one…this time with a tea leaf reader!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve attempted to read my own tea leaves once and it basically just told me I was going to have a conniption on a plane when I lift the foil wrap of my airplane dinner and discover braised beef that was pre-chewed for my convenience. Tea leaves can be unnervingly specific!

Rock On, Maurice Sendak

Thank you for sharing your world with all of us!

Team Zissou

I know, I know! This is the third time I’m bombarding you with yet another Life Aquatic set, but they do make quite a marvelous subject for these dolls! What’s even better is that these guys are going to South Africa!

To shake things up a bit, this time I got a set of six and am able to include Ned Plimpton, the polite southern gentleman who believes Steve Zissou is his father.

The new addition!

I’ve been informed by a Wes Anderson fan that he’s got a new film coming out: “Moonrise Kingdom.” I haven’t even seen a preview, as most of my hours are spent in my studio corner and tending to my Bo’s poor injured foot, but I’m so keen on painting the new characters (no doubt featuring Bill Murray) that I’m already looking at the stills and gathering ideas.

I mean, just look at this! This is magic just begging to happen.

The Man With Six Wives

What was his name again? Oh, that’s right…it’s Henry VIII

I like to think that, when I revisit a set a dolls, I have improved enough as a painter to see the difference in the execution. This one was a real eye-opener since this is a huge set of 7 (what with Henry VIII being about, well, eight inches tall!). The one thing I would do all over again is my choice of glue to put Henry’s hat on. With only Krazy Glue on hand and me not familiar with its insta-bond properties, I managed to fuse two fingers and a feather together. Hey, origins of a new specie has to begin somewhere, right? Might as well be from my studio nook!

Catherine of Aragon (divorced) and Anne Boleyn (beheaded)

Jane Seymour (dead) and Anne of Cleves (divorced)

Kathryn Howard (executed) and Katherine Parr (widowed).

And…the big man himself:

Good ol’ Henry VIII.

The Royal Tenenbaums…Part II

I always regretted not being able to include more of the Royal Tenenbaums cast in the first set of dolls. But as with many things in my life, I was able to amend that this time around.

The Tenenbaums’ neighbor Eli Cash, who writes westerns and has dubious taste in art.

I still can’t get over the “art” in Eli Cash’s place.

I often thought about getting a reproductions of these and hanging it in my dining room for comedic purposes…but that would just elicit cries of outrage from the Hubs.

Henry Sherman, Etheline’s accountant and romantic interest. I don’t know about you, but the two accountants I’ve had were fond of wearing bow ties. Does it make you want to punch them less when they announce how much you owe the IRS?

Raleigh St. Clair, a famous neurologist and Margot’s husband. It seemed like every other set of dolls I painted these days featured a Bill Murray character.

I told you not to fret over the exclusion of Ari and Uzi, didn’t I? Here they are!

The Royal Tenenbaums Strikes Again!

The Wes Anderson characters are so popular that I keep having to paint them. This is my second Royal Tenenbaums set and I have another one in the works as well.

Now, before you go on pointing out that it’s not as good as the first one because Ari and Uzi are missing and there’s no Dalmatian mouse in this set, I advise you to relax and wait for next week’s update. This is part of a deluxe set!

…and see…there’s the Dalmatian mouse!

In addition to that, I’ve also included Mordecai, Richie’s bird.

One of the omissions I refused to make was Margot’s missing finger!

To be continued…

A Mini Interlude

One of the main reasons why I’m back in the US this year is to visit my brand new nephew in Colorado. I have to admit I’m a bit partial about this kid because A. He and I very nearly have the same birthday B. We’re both rabbits and C. We share the same initials. Although I’m not a baby person, I can’t resist lil’ Ian.

Here’s Nephew Ian amidst a riot of colors.

Only in a house like my brother’s will his kids be surrounded by bulldogs—both real and faux. The one on the left almost always look a bit hassled.

Between entertaining the kids and keeping a diligent eye out for liquidy output from both the children and the bulldogs, my brother and I took time out of our busy schedules to hoof across the road to his neighbor’s house, where we were confronted with the ultimate man-cave this guy has built in his basement. Can you believe the dude made an actual flight simulator down there?

I got to land the plane into the Hong Kong airport…without crashing!

I know! This man cave can basically kick any other man cave’s ass! It made my brother’s handmade keg-o-rator look like a dinky little Fisher Price toy by comparison.

While I was in Colorado, my hubs, one very intrepidatious and ultimately insane man, has quite possibly set a new world record—by being the first solo kayaker to cross Cook’s Passage. That’s the very same passage of water in the Great Barrier Reef that ol’ Cap’n Cook discovered for his ship Endeavour to sail out into the open seas. Now, that doesn’t sound too bad, does it? Except the passage is located over the abyss, so if anything should happen to my Anthony, rescuers would have to plunge 2000 meters into Davy Jones’ Locker to recover his bloated corpse. But he’s made it out of the passage safe and sound with one more story to add to his repertoire.

Here’s an undecipherable GPS reading of Ant’s coordinates somewhere over the abyss.

In any case, I am back in my painting corner, painting and feverishly reading all the books that I can’t find in Oz. It’s a surefire way to get through a day of worrying!

If you’re in any way interested in following Anthony’s expedition, feel free to check out his website:

www.seamongrels.com