The Modern Matryoshka

Solzhenitsyn: front


Solzhenitsyn: side


Solzhenitsyn: back


Tolstoy: front


Tolstoy: side


Tolstoy: back


Dostoevsky: front


Dostoevsky: side


Dostoevsky: back


Inside

Finished!

After many intense hours, these dolls are all finished and ready to be shown this weekend. For Solzhenitsyn, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky I also designed an official 'stamp' for the bottom of each one and included their names in English and Russian. When creating these, I decided to size each one according to his age, with the oldest (Dostoevsky) being the smallest. It was in no way to show partiality to Solzhenitsyn, but rather, as they are stacked inside each other, to show how each inspires the next.

The Modern Matryoshka opening reception is April 9th at 7pm
Click here for more details.

Adding Detail... after detail... after detail

Well I have now definitely spent a lot more time working on these dolls than I originally intended. I just kept dreaming bigger. For starters, I added special touches to the inside of each doll. I pasted in old Russian newspaper, and included images I found from these papers on the inside bottom of each 'cup'. Then to add a bit of much needed color, I painted the insides red.  On the outside, I decided to finish each doll off with a textured looking fabric sketch. You can see me working on Solzhenitsyn's herringbone jacket above. I had to put on two coats of lines in order to achieve the darkness I wanted, but I think it turned great. I will be adding textured 'fabrics' to the other two dolls as well and the next posting should be the finalized product.

Character Begins to Show

I got the faces all inked in using a micro pigment pen and each doll is beginning to show some life! Using the curves of the wooden doll to accentuate each face by placing the eyes, mouth, and especially the nose on the right part of the curve required a little extra thought, but so far so good...

Drawing Out the Matryoshka

Here are the first, and very rough sketches of each doll. After a long debate with myself I decided on doing three of the most influential Russian authors: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Solzhenitsyn. I didnt want to make them too cartoony and goofy looking though. Hopefully I can accomplish that.... At this point they are mere sketches, and I havent even started working on the body of each one, because well, Im not sure what to do to them at this point. I have been debating doing different, more traditional patterns and colors, drawing clothing, scenes from their literature, or keeping it really simple and just staining them with a light pattern. It should be figured out by next post...

In Preparation for the Modern Matryoshka

Ill be part of another group show at the Rothick Arthaus soon. We have over 50 artists painting Matryoshka (Russian nesting) dolls. This is going to be insane! I will be posting up pictures as I work on these dolls. The first is what I have to work with... more coming later this week!