My next portrait is inspired by one of my favorite family holiday movies.
It’s Buddy the Elf from the movie ELF.
I feel like this is one of those movies that just gets funnier every time we (me and my. family) watch it. We know all the lines and anticipating them makes them that much more funny.
It kind of makes me think of how people describe a live viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show where we recite the lines along with the characters and then cackle with laughter.
Since this has been kind of a bummer of a year, I am doing my best to channel Buddy’s childlike LOVE of all things Christmas.
His curly hair was really fun to work on! I used french bullion knots and lots of split stitch, as well as long and short stitch. There may even be a few french knots hidden in there.
I really debated whether or not to apply a furry collar or to try to use floss. In the end I used layers and layers of two strands of floss and then roughed it up a little with scissor blades to give it a more fuzzy look. I’m thinking, in retrospect, that a turkey stitch might have been the way to go here. I have to learn it, so maybe a good idea for a future blog post.
Here’s a close up of the teeth. It looks so abstract.
Initially, I made the eyes too light and poor Buddy looked like he just escaped from an asylum. I darkened them a little and that made all the difference. It’s so strange how something as subtle as a light eye color could change the whole look and mood of the face.
I used lots of layers of color to create the highlights, shadows, and subtle color variations on Buddy’s face. I used some thin spools of sewing thread and that really helped add to the detail of his face.
Well, that’s all for now! I really hope you can conjure up some spirit to get though your holidays!
Stay well,
xox,
Pam