Tish

Tish belonged to my friend Karen, who had rescued her and her brothers and sisters from a Very Bad Man with Bad Intentions. It was one of the best animal rescue stories I’ve ever heard and I’m glad Karen and her friend had the courage to fend off this Evil Man and save the pups. Tish was the only one who was not adopted so Karen took her under her wing and she went on to have a great life.

Tish!

Poison Poison Tasty Fish!

My studio has been set up to accommodate painting of the dolls so it’s been pretty hard to transition to flat paintings. I need a sloping desk top and some bits and pieces to hold my paints in while I’m working. It’s a bit of a nightmare, really, trying to paint on paper, but I’m making a go of it. I’m painting on top of a dinner tray that I can tilt up or down and since I don’t use palettes I’ve been taping pieces of cardboard on top of the actual painting I’m working on to mix the colors. I’ll figure it out soon. In the meanwhile, I am having some fun practicing new techniques and working on projects that I never got around to doing.

This is the latest, inspired by my Dad’s penchant for fine and sometimes dubious cuisine and an episode of The Simpsons. My Dad had an insane zest for life. He loved trying new things. When Colorado legalised a certain green thing, he happily drove me to the nearest dispensary and went in with me and paid for my “goods.” And when he drove me to my first gynecology appointment, he repaired to the nearest sushi bar while I was getting checked out and ordered himself a plate of fugu to calm his nerves, as my appointment, he had claimed, was more traumatic for him than it was for me. Fugu, if you are not aware, is deemed both a celebrated and notorious cuisine in Japan and selected countries. The difference between eating this dish and the garbage they serve in the “wet markets” of Asia is that fugu is only legal if it is prepared by a highly trained and licensed chef. As ambitious as my Dad was in his epicurean endeavours, he wasn’t about to make his own fugu in the kitchen.

Later on in his life, he more or less stopped eating fish. He hated seeing fish struggling to breathe when captured and then slowly asphyxiate, and that man LOVED his seafood! After he passed away I went through his files and found that he had been making substantial contributions to the WWF and other animal charity groups. And so this painting is not so much a study of an obscure Asian cuisine but more of a celebration of the life of a man who truly lived his own to the fullest.

The earthenware pot and the sake set are replicas of the ones my Dad owned! The pot is a representation of all the fun family dinners we’ve had to mark a special occasion. Shabu shabu is one of our favourite meals, even for me, who would not voluntarily eat 5/8 of the stuff I painted here, but I always sat around with everyone for hours on end as the pot bubbled and boiled with a seemingly never-ending array of food. At the moment, when visiting families is now either forbidden or a huge ordeal, I’m glad I have plenty of memories to hold onto.

Bink and Olive

I’ve been getting a fair bit of requests from people wanting to commemorate their pets in doll form. At first I hadn’t wanted to do it because just the thought of these pets crossing the rainbow bridge made me so sad that I would tear up just looking at the photos sent to me. This was why I never went into taxidermy when I had an opportunity to do so. But then I thought, well, it’s for people who really love their animals and the little dolls I create can bring a little bit of solace so I went for it. After all, I AM surrounded by photos of my and my brother’s bullies and I haven’t burst into tears once (lately) when I look at them.

These are Bink and Olive, straight up Basset Hounds who just looked like they’re the best boy and girl in the world! I was a bit weepy at first but got over it.

I made a special blend of paint for Bink’s coloring which I am naming after him: Bink Black. It seemed like I’ve been naming my special blends after dogs I’ve painted. For instance, one of my blends is called Jett Black after a little black pug I painted some years before.

As with all my commemorative animal sets, there’s always a little Easter Egg surprise inside. This one is no exception!

Bink!

Olive!

 

 

 

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.

 

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!