Move Over Vinyl

I was honored to be invited to participate in Mike Burnett's Welcome to the NeighborWood, Custom Wood Toy Sculpture Show. I have customized vinyl toys in the past for a couple of shows, but this is the first time I get to work on a wooden toy and the experience was WAY more pleasant. Wood is friendlier and painting on it is a joy! I can sand it, scratch it, repaint it and it just looks better and better.
I completed the design while in Berlin but I always wait until the last minute to do the work. I don't know, for me there's something really cool about doing it that way.
Here's the process:

The bear bones. Mr Burnett pays sick attention to detail

I get to spray the limbs with one of my favorite colors: Verde Vómito!

Edel, this is my version of a spray booth. Practical, light, portabl...aghhh my eye!

After penciling the basic shapes I start coloring with acrylics

I'm using only four colors for this piece. A limited pallet is key

Here's the body with the first coat and my midnight snack

I think it's gonna look good

I like to use workers from developing countries to keep the budget under control

Adding the fine detail and having to do several coats can be really tiring (at 4 am)

Why 46?

Ah, breakfast! Grrrrrrreat!

I decided to add more green so I needed to do some extra masking

Was Goldin messing up around here? I keep replacing these guys to avoid big nasty drops

Voilà! Here's the final piece titled Je Suis un Garçon Moderne (I am a Modern Kid)

I intentionally left some open areas to show the beauty of the wood

Ready for a Polyurethane semi gloss coat!? You bet. I can use a good shower too.