Pinoy artist dolls up ‘Angelina'
By Rowena C. Burgos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:47:00 10/05/2008
MANILA, Philippines - For over seven years now, Noel Cruz has been creating portraiture of Hollywood celebrities on dolls. An American magazine recently reported his Angelina Jolie doll could have been purchased by the actress and partner Brad Pitt on eBay, an online auction and shopping website.
The doll has been featured in magazines in the United States and United Kingdom.
One eBay bidder reportedly bought one Jolie doll for $3,350. The doll came with two wigs and hand-painted, sculpturally enhanced breasts and without tattoos, which can be added by Cruz for $15-$35 each depending on the tattoo. Another bidder reportedly purchased another Jolie doll for £2,000.
Cruz has also done the dolls of Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Tobey Maguire, Daniel Craig, Christopher Reeve, Keira Knightley, Kirsten Dunst, Nicole Kidman, Celine Dion, Annie Lennox, Julie Andrews, Vivien Leigh and many more.
The starting bid for Cruz’s 16-inch vinyl celebrity dolls is $300. However, they always end up selling for $600 and above.
“I’ve always been fascinated by faces. It can convey different emotions. And the eyes are, indeed, the window to one’s soul,” says the US-based Filipino artist in an online interview. “But, a beautiful portrait should go beyond realism. It should tell a story.”
Copying the likeness of a famous person starts with removing the doll’s factory paint. With nothing more than brushes, acrylics and sealers, Cruz transforms the manufactured doll into an unbelievably true-to-life likeness of a celebrity.
“The concept is essentially the same as painting on a flat canvas. But with a doll’s face, you have a three-dimensional canvas and the techniques involved in making such portrait are different,” Cruz says.
According to Cruz, a self-taught artist, the doll’s face is approximately 2½ inch by 2 inch. Therefore, everything has to be tiny in scale: paint brush, strokes and facial features.
“Repainting a doll’s face requires more precision and accuracy [than painting on a flat canvas] so when the doll is photographed up close, its features will look clean and crisp.”
For his canvas, Cruz utilizes Gene Marshall dolls produced by Ashton Drake Galleries, Tyler and Sydney by Robert Tonner and Franklin Mint. These dolls, Cruz says, “have subtly molded facial features that allow more versatility in painting different personalities.”
Cruz buys the clothes from the doll manufacturers for $25-$75. Hair styling is “as intricate as face painting. A poorly styled hair can ruin the doll altogether.”
Initial work
He painstakingly puts intricate detail into his art that it takes him three days to finish a doll’s painting and styling. This does not include photographing the doll for eBay.
Cruz’s initial work was on a Gene doll. He offered it on eBay for $75. Unfortunately, it didn’t sell.
“For weeks, I looked at the works of other artists, but mostly I kept on repainting and erasing. When I felt confident that I could do it, I did a repaint of another non-celebrity on a Gene doll. This time, it sold for $162. I was ecstatic! The sale was a validation that I finally knew what I was doing,” Cruz relates.
Emboldened by the success of his first venture, Cruz painted Elizabeth Taylor.
“The young Liz Taylor is an epitome of beauty and Hollywood glamour.”
Communications graduate
A graduate of Communications from the California State University, major in video editing and digital imaging, Cruz has shot and edited documentaries for the university.
Born in Mandaluyong, Cruz migrated to the US in 1988 with his wife and son. They engaged in collecting and selling Barbie dolls and action figures. It was in 2001 when Cruz learned about doll painting on the Internet.
The dolls were sold for $400, but their original cost range from $50-$100 only.
“This is when I toyed with the idea of repainting a doll to resemble a specific celebrity.”
Since then, clients have asked Cruz to do portrait dolls of show-biz icons. His commission rate starts at $600, which constitutes only the painting and hair styling. The cost of the canvas doll is add-on.
First models
Aside from eBay, Cruz’s works can be viewed on his website, www.ncruz.com.
Cruz’s passion for drawing started at a very young age. At first, he dabbled on landscapes and still life. Then he gravitated toward “beautiful faces.” The pretty candidates of the Miss Universe pageant held in the Philippines in 1974 were his first models in portraiture.
During his teen years, Cruz would observe portrait artists in Manila work. Gary Saderup’s charcoals played a large part in helping Cruz develop his own style. Renaissance art piqued his interest during a trip to Europe in 2001.
He began taking commissions at 16, and has done countless portraits since. Charcoal, graphite, pastel and acrylics are his media of choice.
His dolls were recently exhibited at the California State University’s art gallery.
He received the Daily Deviation award twice from Deviant Art, a website for artists and art enthusiasts.
“Considering how relatively new this form of art is, I consider this quite an honor and accomplishment,” Cruz says.
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