Angry Duck Studio

You're gonna die when you see the inspiration photo (a profile of a Lyce Indian woman) for this piece, titled Gregory. Obviously something happened along the way.

I was working on her small double chin when I realized that I had accidentally added facial hair where I meant to shade. That, plus the fact that her nose (as I had drawn it) was very manly, led me to perform the gender reassignment you see here.

The remnants of the original are still pretty clear -- the slope of the head and the little white earring, which I kept on purpose.

I'm happy with the skin tone(s) and the eye/eyebrow shape. I'm less happy with the clown/hobo style facial hair.

Overall, I like it. It's interesting and a bit strange.

BTW, I don't know this guy. But he seems like he might be a Gregory. Not Greg. Gregory.

A Wild Sheep Chase, by Haruki Murakami, mentions the Ainu, a people indigenous to Japan. I liked to book, so I did a quick portrait of an Ainu chieftain. OK, I don't know if he's really a chief, but that's what I'm calling him.

Here's the inspiration photo. Sorry, it's just a tiny thumbnail in Google's cache. I guess they didn't pay their bill.

For once, I didn't use every available color. It's a simple painting but I think it captures the essence of the photo, in a strange Matt-sort-of-way.

I like working from a B&W photo, as then I have more freedon to guess at the colors. OK, I don't really even try to guess, I just do whatever the heck I want.

BTW, it's on a recycled canvas board that used to hold a painting of a walrus laying on some rocks near the sea, titled I Am Not Really a Duck. Maybe an art historian will one day x-ray Ainu Chieftain and discover the wonderful, lost piece that lies below it. My reputation will be ruined!