Bubbles — A Trailer Park Boys Collage Painting

Mike Smith as Bubbles Painting By Borbay

Deeecent boys! Holy fuck, it’s Bubbles! Where’s Steve French? Is that a dirty fuckin’ samsquanch?

UPDATE: I will be releasing a limited edition series of prints of this fuckin’ dirty painting, get two birds stoned at once and reserve yours today.

One of my all-time favorite shows, Trailer Park Boys, has been playing on loop for so long… I decided to paint a portrait of Bubbles. Mike Smith’s character was an on-set discovery, and has since become a beloved figure in the world of liquor and dope.

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Source Image by Borbay

The source image was captured when I froze a frame from the movie “Don’t Legalize It“. Bubbs is holding a vile of clean piss… Julian’s hustle to make dough… the piss didn’t make the final canvas, parts unknown.

I decided to really explain myself in this process video — there is some swearing for those with virgin ears.

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting Process By Borbay 2015

As always, it takes me some time to sift through books and piles of newspapers to source the appropriate collage material. Bubbles is interesting… he’s a lifelong petty criminal with the occasional foray into felonies thanks to his pals Ricky and Julian. However, he’s also the emotional center of the show… so I wanted to capture the nuances of the man here.

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting Process By Borbay 2015

As always… a warm under-painting of orange in the background, and red for the hair. I also began to carve into the features… building the shadows first.

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting Process By Borbay 2015

A few rounds of color and we are on our way boys.

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting Process By Borbay 2015

I wasn’t sure what the final palette would look like, but I figured a cooler under-painting couldn’t hurt matters on the face.

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting Process By Borbay 2015

The blue background was huge…

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting By Borbay Featured On Swearnet

It was at this point the fuckin’ boys posted a progress update on Swearnet… deeecent!

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting Process By Borbay 2015

With the entire range painted in blues and purples, I realized it was time to go warm or go the fuck home.

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting Process By Borbay 2015

Just about rounding the corner… painting in the hair was important to balance out the composition.

Bubbles Trailer Park Boys Painting Process By Borbay 2015

This red was a big step boys… It was heavy and intense, but necessary. Painting Bubbles half-ass would have been an insult to the man… now all that was left was the shirt and glasses.

Mike Smith as Bubbles Painting By Borbay

Boom! Bubbles… I had a blast painting this and I’m stoked with the results. The big question is this: who should I paint next? Ricky? Julian? Mr. Lahey? Lucy? What do you think?

Bubbles Painting Detail By Borbay

Click on the image above for a closer look at Bubbs — and here are some other portraits you might dig. Thank you for the love, now let’s hit the fuckin’ LC boys!

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