Isle of Dogs (And About Time Too!)

Okay, I am ashamed to admit it, but I actually started painting Wes Anderson’s hit stop motion “Isle of Dogs” over a year ago and got nowhere with it fast as life kept interrupting The Process. Fortunately a Wes Anderson enthusiast expressed interest in it which lit that ebbing flame under me once again and I was able to create this set just for her. There’s another half painted version languishing in my closet and I am hoping that now that I’ve gotten my feet wet, I am more motivated to finish it!

I’ve been painting a lot of dogs for the past few months so jumping into this set hadn’t been much of a problem. Believe it or not they are a little more difficult to paint than the human dolls due to the sheer amount of fur action they’ve got going on. I can’t even tell you how many audio books I’ve burned through whilst painting this set. I’m not complaining, though. Have you read Blake Crouch’s mindbending “Recursion?!?!”

This set consists of Chief, Boss (my favorite because of his little outfit), Spots, Duke, Rex, King, and of course, teeny weeny little Atari.

 

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Star Wars Creatures and Critters

In the past I have painted one or two of the myriad creatures in the Star Wars universe. Whenever those were proposed, I’d have to spend a little time trying to figure out how to configure an animal form onto a human-shaped doll without having to take a sander to it. This set of Star Wars creatures didn’t take too much figuring out, and the only hardship I came across was trying to fit it into my already seriously heavy painting schedule!

The first one is the adorable little Porg from “The Last Jedi,” a real treat and a half to paint. I have done a Tauntaun before so I was pleased to give it another shot and was happy with the outcome. The third in line is the Vulptex, also from “The Last Jedi,” which I absolutely fell in love with as soon as they appeared on the screen. Then we have the closest thing to a woolly mammoth in the Star Wars Universe, the Bantha. This is followed by a Fathier, also from “The Last Jedi,” and the lizard Dewback, which gave me a bit of a pause until it was pointed out to me that, if I had been able to make Smaug of The Hobbit from one of these dolls, a lizard shouldn’t be a problem. And it wasn’t!

A Portrait Set

Everything about this portrait set is adorable. From the very handsome couple to their little doggies.

When the subject of an Easter egg surprise was broached, I more or less squealed and immediately made the mini objects.

My Little Pony

I had to admit I lost a few nights’ sleep thinking about this challenge presented to me: A My Little Pony set for a birthday girl. But as always, when you leave something alone, a solution will nearly always present itself.

After this was painted, I was all smug and got ready to work on the next item on the list when I happened to look at the notes about this set and realized I got the line up of the ponies completely wrong. The buyer was beyond understanding and was even willing to take this set as is except that’s not how I roll. Luckily she made a suggestion that got me to stop tearing my hair out and I made some minor adjustments:

Of course, there was another complication that came up when I thought this set was done and dusted and that had been yet another oversight on my part…what on earth was going on in the ol’ sweatshop?! In the end everything worked out and my takeaway from the many trials and tribulations is to ALWAYS CHECK EVERYTHING OVER TWICE. Or thrice.

Bo

Even though he lived with parents and I only got to see him once a year, Bo and I were the best of friends and his awesomeness was unparallelled. Be a good boy in doggie heaven, my Bo.

The Wilfred Expansion

Last year I got to paint 8 sets of the Wilfred dolls which includes Wilfred, Ryan, and Bear. I toyed with the idea with resurrecting this set again with an addition of more characters but didn’t get a chance to do it until now. Not only did I get to paint one of my favorite sets again, but I got to supersize it AND include Jenna and Drew. Life is good.

A New Mr. Fox Set

I think I’ve painted about 20 Mr. Fox sets in the past 4 months. It’s gotten to a point that I had to stifle a scream whenever I get a request to paint one, albeit never successfully. To stave off the ennui, I’ve tried out an alternative version to see if that one will be as popular as the original set.

It’s a bit more low key, and the gang’s wearing their nightclothes. The screaming in my head died down a little while painting this set.

Ash in his briefs. Awww…cute!

The Story of a Dog and His Man

When asked if I would be interested in painting multiple sets of dolls for the cast of surreal comedy Wilfred, I said, “Put the coffee on and keep those cheese logs coming.” The steam whistle was pulled and I entered my sweatshop and didn’t emerge until a week later.

There are nine sets in all, each featuring Wilfred, a manipulative dog; Ryan, his next door neighbor and dog-sitter; and Bear, Wilfred’s favorite toy. We decided that the Ryan dolls should all be wearing different shirts, just to break things up a little and make each set truly one-of-a-kind.

Haven’t seen this show yet? You should! Season 3 is premiering soon and season 1 can be streamed off Netflix!

Jett and Her Friends

It seems like I’ve been in a full-on assembly line style painting these days! It’s sort of a Zen thing, which is just as good as meditation if you ask me!

These are favors for Jett the Pug’s birthday party. Aww! If these are meant to be stand-alone dolls, I’d have made little party hats for them!

Jett’s little friends also get key chains painted in their own likenesses as well! Not that I’m biased or anything, but I LOVED Harold the Bulldog.

Introducing Trixie

Trixie came about after I read The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. The story took place in Alaska, a perfect read during the sultry Australian summer months. It’s a fairy tale written for adults about a childless couple thriving in the Alaskan wilderness, a mysterious girl who may or may not have been made out of snow accompanied by a red fox, and unexpectedly, sewing.

I miss my dirndls. That’s right, I owned not one but two dirndls and I used to wear it un-ironically (it also doubled as a Halloween costume—wherein during the day, with a red cape, I was the Little Red Riding Hood as not to offend my students and colleagues. At night, however, I became an Oktoberfest beer wench. Dirndls are marvelous things).

When it’s time to choose an outfit to make for Trixie, I went straight for the Little Red Riding Hood ensemble since it’s a great excuse to make a mini dirndl.

I also made a little button clasp shaped like a pretzel. Perhaps there’s a larger one in the works for myself to wear?