I know many of you trying to grow facial hair for the show are feeling the weight of Astrov’s line, so I thought I’d offer some inspiration in the form of the paintings of Aaron Smith, a fine art painter and the Associate Chair of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

His recent work:

Ginger, 2012, oil on panel, 48″ x 36″

uses his own collection of Victorian/Edwardian era photographs of men who represent (or at least are posed in ways that represent) a masculine ideal. To further enhance the contrast between their spectacular facial hair and formal dress with their stiff poses and dour demeanor, Smith transforms his black & white/sepia photos into large-scale expressionistic portraits with colors inspired by Birds-of-Paradise and “the extravagantly decorated Huli Wigmen of Papua New Guinea.” While our set is not in this exact palette, I do see bright touches of blue, blue-green, yellow, and orange-red in the photos Jeff & Sonya identified as the central touchstones for our production.

Huli Wigman, National Geographic photograph.

 A few more in Smith’s series:

Chopsy, 2011, oil on panel, 28″x24″

Kicker (Roger Casement) 2012, oil on panel, 24” x 22”

Pommie, 2012, oil on panel, 48″ x 32″

Jeek, 2011, oil on panel, 28″ x 24″

Sprater, 2010, oil on panel, 28″ x 18″

I wish you all strong and bushy follicles.