Perspectives of a Writer and Musician

Issues related to writing, publishing and playing jazz music: One man's muse.
by Al Stevens

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Location: Florida, United States

Friday, May 16, 2008

Sonny's Paint Job

I've been shut down for a few days while the fires passed through. Florida had about 80 brush fires last week, several of them within a quarter mile of my home. We had the RV ready to roll and our irreplaceable things ready to load. That includes my current dummy projects, my own figures, and some musical instruments.

The fires seem to be over now, although we're still without rain. I'm taking projects back into the workshop one at a time. Today, I set up to paint Sonny, the replica dummy that I am building for ventriloquist Micheal Harrison. He has his base coat and is ready for the details. Here's a shot of Sonny I and Sonny II.



You can see the challenge. Sonny II needs to capture the essence of Sonny I, the figure with which Michael's great-grandfather performed. Yet he also needs a more contemporary look, one that looks better in closeup work. We'll see how I do. One good think about paint—if you don't like what you've done, you can start all over.