Growing up, I was obsessed with Broadway shows and would draw every character, down to members of the chorus, from the performances I loved. How I never managed to do the same with nesting dolls is beyond me, since I do have a drawer filled with loose dolls that can easily be cobbled together to reflect an entire cast from “Hair” or “Assassins” or “Sweeney Todd” or “Jesus Christ Superstar.” I did have in mind to paint every little critter from “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” but it would be one of those projects that will take forever and a day to knock out.
And then I got a request to paint the entire cast of “The Big Lebowski.” We’re talking the core cast, the secondary cast, the extras, and even a couple of inanimate objects featured prominently in the film. How can I pass this up? I am beyond thrilled to bring this to life!
Set Number One:
This one features The Dude, Jackie Treehorn, Woo the Thug, Francis Donnelly the funeral home director, Younger Cop, Lebowski’s Chauffeur, and Bunny Lebowski’s severed toe with the green nail polish.
Set Number Two:
Here we’ve got Walter, Bunny, Liam (Jesus’ lackey), Dafino, Nihilist’s girlfriend, and porn actress Asia Carrera who appeared in the film as herself playing “Sherry” in “Logjammin’.”
Set Number Three:
Donny with his In-N-Out Burger, Nihilist #1 with the marmot, Marty the Landlord, Malibu Sheriff, Tony the Chauffeur, and the cashier girl in the opening scene.
Set Number Four:
Maude in her “painting harness,” Nihilist #2, Knox Harrington, Maude’s thugs, Saddam Hussein, and the doctor tending to The Dude.
Set Number Five
This is one of my favorite sets because of the wheelchair on Jeffery Lebowski. It also featured Brandt, Little Larry Sellers, Impound Lot Cop, the cabbie who hauled The Dude out of his taxi, and the Older Cop we came out to interview him.
Set Number Six:
The Stranger, Nihilist #3, Smokey, one of the showgirls in the dream sequence, coffee shop waitress, and Gary the Bartender.
Set Number Seven:
This one features Jesus Quintana, The Autobahn Group, Blonde Treehorn Thug upon discovering that The Dude wasn’t, in fact, the Jeffery Lebowski they were after, the Corvette owner who came out to beat up The Dude and Walt after they destroyed his Corvette, Pilar, Larry Sellers’ housekeeper, and the Stacks Pancake House waitress.
Set Number Eight:
This one was a lot of fun to make because it features Arthur Sellers in an iron lung, Dream Sequence Dude, the bowling pro who played an extra in the movie, the REAL Jeffery “The Dude” Lebowski, and the coffee can filled with Donny’s ashes.
Last but not least…
It’s a bit daunting seeing all these dolls out on display like this, but I’ve had about four months to work on it. Thank you, Mitch! This was a blast!
