Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls is one of those shows I never got around to see when it was first aired. I think I’d just graduated from college and was too busy navigating the zany world of adulthood to invest in a TV series. Also I was too cheap to get a proper cable hook up and relied solely on one of those rabbit ear contraptions which ended up being used to dry hastily sink-washed scanties. I had maybe two “good” channels I could watch without getting a headache when the wind was blowing eastward so I missed a lot of great shows then, Gilmore Girls being one of them.

As per someone’s request, I got to paint this set featuring characters from the show that best resonated with the buyer. Since I spend a majority of my day painting with Netflix on the background, I figured I ought to give this show a try. I’ll tell you what, it’s really weird to see my former Princeton Review SAT prep teacher on the screen. Lauren Graham is fabulous, of course. I’ve only ever known her as a no-nonsense test prep teacher who was good at her job and got annoyed at me when I had to leave my final review session early so I wouldn’t miss my ride. That’s the mark of someone who gives a damn.

This set features Lorelai, Rory, Luke, Emily, Richard, Kirk, and Lane.

It’s really wonderful to see someone from your past doing so well for herself. Maybe it’s time I check out “Parenthood!”

The Hobbit

Years and years ago I did a mini “Lord of the Rings” set featuring the fellowship. Since then I’d been wanting to update it but never got around to it…until now. I was asked to do a large set of 8 featuring a wizard, a hobbit, dwarfs, and a dragon from “The Hobbit.” It’s really hard to fit this mega set into my insane schedule, but I worked on it after after hours and found that I do my best work after dinner; when noisy and crabby neighbors have retired for the night and I was refreshed from a bracing shower and dinner.

Usually I can’t wait to finish a set and send it on its way, but this one…? I kind of wanted to keep it around for a bit!

Smaug was painted all in one go on a dreary Saturday afternoon. I streamed two movies and three 1-hour TV show while painting this set.

Gandalf: Hatted and unhatted.

Thorin and Dwalin. Seriously, Dwarfs cannot be this hot in Tolkien’s vision.

Fili and Kili and Bofur and of course, Bilbo.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

It seemed kind of serendipitous that when I was working on a set of Ruth Bader Ginsburg that I had the third US presidential debate on in the background and Trump went after the supreme court justice.

“Ooooh,” I stopped painting momentarily and stared at the overly coiffed nominee in dismay. “You’re in deep doo doo now!” Not that he has kept his shoes free of scat since he dove into politics, but rather, this statement would no doubt anger the legions of RBG fans. The fact that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a supreme court justice, has fans, says a lot about this woman, and that she’s so awesome that I was asked to paint her likeness in doll form.

Since I like to add a little surprises into sets that doesn’t include the littlest doll, this one will feature two gavel charms for the recipient to fashion into earrings.