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:

http://www.seamongrels.com