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...

Bears

For the past month I have been really busy and unable to do very much artwork... and its been killing me! Finally today I was able to sit down and just draw something for fun. Lately Ive been wanting to draw bears. Im not sure what brought it on, but I have actually used them in a few different things over the last couple weeks. Here is a bear I drew with my wacom tablet in Illustrator. I still have a few fixes to make, but this is a good stopping point for now...

In Preparation

  

These three sketches are for an upcoming piece Im working on. Its gonna be pretty big and hopefully awesome. Actually I know its going to be awesome, and it will be revealed at the upcoming art show "Beneath the Broken Bottles and Cigarette Butts" at the Rothick Gallery in Anaheim, CA. I urge you all to come, its gonna be crazy! I will have my own room there and will be showing new stuff. I will also have a limited number of small sketches that will be sold for cheap! Make sure you get there on time so you can get one before they are all gone... Go to my events page for more information.

Reclaimed pt.7

One day while in Florence, my friends and I decided to jump on a train and see where it would take us. It sounded really exciting. First we stopped off at a small town to get some local wine, but the winery was closed. Then we got here. It was a big city with a big church built on the side of a hill. In fact most of this city was built on the side of the hill and had really steep streets going up it. We hiked up to see what we could see. I saw this and the rather large church. Afterward we thought the trip was kind of a waste, but I recently changed my mind because I just some art out of it...

In Italy is ink and acrylic on cardboard. 8.25" x 10.75"

Related Posts:

Open Mic Night

I literally just finished designing this poster. It was pretty short notice so I had to get something done quickly, which means I didnt have time for fresh brand new artwork. The sketch I used was something I did a while back using photoshop and my wacom tablet. Its a kind of self portrait... really I just needed a face in that pose, and well my face was available. So there you have it. If anyone is in Redlands (or even if your not) next Friday they should definitely check this out. The whole thing benefits YouthHope, a non-profit that works to help homeless kids get off the streets. Definitely worth your time...

Dont forget that my skate deck show is this Saturday! Go to my events section for more info

Windows

I had done a few of these simple sketches with a light watercolor wash for color. This was probably the best one. At the time I thought it was a good idea to add a cup ring to it, I guess to add extra texture and make it 'sloppy'... it didnt work out.

Bic Pen!

Here is a sketch I did back in college with a bic pen. Based on a bamboo wall hanging I bought in San Francisco's Chinatown.