Russian Red

During the October Revolution the Winter Palace was raided of its wine cellars and made much of the Petrograd population quite drunk. It got to the point that a decree was issued that any stock of wine found would be blown up with dynamite... To celebrate the wine pogrom issued by the Regimental Committee, Lenin, and Trotsky, I give you Russian Red... almost good enough to be straight from the cellar of the Winter Palace.

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.

Whole Lotta Rosas

Artwork done for the "Whole Lotta Rosas" show this past Friday at the Camp in Costa Mesa (photos of the event coming soon). The second photo is 15 parts that comprise the piece "Soldiers! Workers! Citizens!" There are still a few left if anyone wants them...

A Glimpse

Here is a few of the 15 individual parts that comprise the piece "Solders! Workers! Citizens!" that will be on display this Friday. Though it is one piece, I will be selling off the individual 'parts' starting at $20 each.

"A Whole Lotta Rosas" Group art show
at Ecco at the Camp in Costa Mesa
click here for more info
Directions