Red Grant in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)

Red Grant is an iconic character in the Bond movie series. The first of a string of blonde muscular robotic henchmen, who are in the movies to do the dirty jobs. Usually very few lines of dialogues. Muscles are a must for these roles. 

Red Grant is physically threatening. He has a thrilling encounter with Bond on the Orient Express. His greed finally betrays him when Bond tempts him with gold coins in his gadget -laden briefcase. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Aristotle Kristatos in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)

Aristotle Kristatos is a realistic villain in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. No big out-of-this world lair, no spectacular world domination plan. He is after a lost British encryption machine which he has made plans to sell to the Russians. His final hideout was a monastery built on top of a rock column. Inside the monastery there are colourful wall paintings of religious characters.

Kristatos is also the patron of a young gymnastic skater called Bibi Dahl. The monastery is her exercise and training place. That is why there is a huge mirror leaning against a wall. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Dominic Greene in QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)

Sinister villain Dominic Greene in QUANTUM OF SOLACE wants to sell off the control of the natural water supply in Bolivia to big corporations, leaving local people dying of thirst. Greene's final scene takes place in this remote minimal structure in the middle of the desert. He has a nail-biting fight scene here with Bond. Lots of explosions. At some point, Greene waves an axe at Bond and clumsily injuring himself. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Alec Trevelyan in GOLDENEYE (1995)

The rogue MI6 agent 006 turned to the dark side and become the villain in GOLDENEYE. With the help of his sexy but deadly henchwoman, Xenia Onatopp, he steals from the Russians a Goldeneye satellite which can cause electronic meltdown on earth. Bond has to stop him. All the old USSR symbols, the red star, the hammer and sickle are used elaborately in the superbly done graphic opening title sequence. The gold statue emitting golden ray from the eye, is iconic for this movie. I feel that it's a suitable background for the portrait. Severnaya is the Russian base where Trevelyan steals the Goldeneye control and destroys afterward, by deploying the Goldeneye,  to cover the trace of his crime. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Jinx in DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)

The mysterious Jinx is a secret agent sent by the US government to work with Bond to stop the advance of the North Korean army into South Korea. To achieve this, they must kill the villain Gustav Graves, and his henchman Zao. Graves has built a death satellite that can fire powerful laser beam from the space to earth targets. Graves demonstrates the satellite in a press event at the temporary lair, an ice hotel in Norway. Attached to the hotel is the avant garde glass dome structure that houses Graves secret experiments. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Max Zorin in A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)

The villain Max Zorin in A VIEW TO A KILL plans to cause global economy meltdown by destroying the silicon valley by flooding it with seawater. Him and his sidekick, the powerful May Day, are outcomes of experiments on genetically enhanced babies. The drugs however turn them in psychotic murderers. Zorin has his cooperation and his hideout is a gigantic white blimp which hovers above the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Wei Lin in TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997)

The mysterious Chinese secret agent Wei Lin is Bond's equal in TOMORROW NEVER DIES. She is a martial arts expert. It is a refreshing to see her handling a group of thugs all by herself in an vintage bike repair shop, a front for her secret agent activities, in Vietnam. Inside the shop, she has an arsenal packed with deadly weapons. Wei Lin has her life saving gadgets just like Bond does. In this scene, her bracelet can shoot a strong wire out as occasion calls for it. Her earrings can open handcuffs. Wei Lin has many action sequences in the movie. Most of them Bond and her are being chased by thugs sent by the villain media mogul Elliot Carver. In this scene they have to escape by hanging onto a giant vertical banner of Carver on the outside of his skyscraper. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Honey Rider in DR. NO (1962)

The innocent but courageous Bond lady Honey Rider in Dr. No.. The first main Bond lady on the big screen. The image when she emerge at the beach on Dr. No's island, wearing her white bikini suit, is an iconic Bond movie moment. She has a great action sequence when Bond and her are attacked by Dr. No's mysterious flame-shooting "Dragon Tank". The tank design has that 1950 sci-fi movie look. Fun to paint. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Le Chiffre in CASINO ROYALE (2006)

Le Chiffre, a more recent classic Bond movie villain. Straight from the first Ian Fleming Bond novel. He is the paymaster of the Soviet agency SMERSH.  His character is desperate, sinister and violent. Bond must beat him a high stakes baccarat game in order to stop him from funding terrorist activities. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Mr. Big in LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)

The infamous gangster Mr. Big is a mysterious drug dealer/ gangster who operates in Harlem from inside the "Fillet of Soul" bar . Mr. Big wears a fake face mask because his real identity is Dr. Kananga,  a dictator of San Monique. Using his diplomatic immunities in the United States, Kananga smuggles drugs into the country under the alias Mr. Big. It was a lot of fun painting the metallic pimpmobile in the background. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Pussy Galore in GOLDFINGER (1964)

The iconic Pussy Galore, leader of the infamous all female Pussy Galore Flying Circus. Assistant to the villain Auric Goldfinger. The first time Pussy Galore appears in the movie, she is the first thing Bond sees when he gains consciousness in Goldfinger's private jet. Bond thinks he has died and gone to heaven. There is a lot of metallic materials in the private jet interior design. Even her vest is gold. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Tiffany Case in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)

In DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, the glamorous diamond smuggler Tiffany Case has an impressive action scene, with Bond driving her red Mustang, chased by thugs in the neon-lit night streets of sinful Las Vegas. The red car is definitely the star of that long car chase sequence. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Kamal Khan in OCTOPUSSY (1983)

Kamal Khan, the villain in OCTOPUSSY hides out in India, one of the exotic locations in this movie. Khan betrays his female partner-in-crime Octopussy, the mysterious international jewelry smuggler. Using Octopussy's Circus travelling all over Europe, Khan secretly made a deal with the ambitious General Orlov to smuggle a timed nuclear bomb into a NATO family event, scheduled  to set off in the middle of an Octopussy Circus's performance. Secret microfilm is hidden inside the priceless Faberge egg. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Zao in DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)

Zao, the henchman with diamonds embedded in his face. The martial arts expert henchman of the villain Gustav Graves. His ashy complexion is the result of a botched stem cell transfer operation.

Zao's deadly weapon is a jade green Jaguar convertible fully packed with machine guns and missiles. In this scene, Zao is chasing after Bond who is driving his Aston Martin. The  machine gun mounted behind Zao is shooting in circular motion. In the background, Gustav Graves's temporary lair, the ice hotel in Norway, is being shot by laser beam emitted from the killer satellite, built by Graves himself, to destroy any evidence of his crimes. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Brad Whitaker in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)

First portrait from this realistic Bond adventure. Brad Whitaker is the arms dealer who is the baddie in this movie. His lair is decorated with a large display of weapons and mannequins of past dictators whose faces are all made to look like Whitaker himself. Historic battles models are his hobby. He can operate the tin soldiers to shoot real cannons from a remote control. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Ernst Stavro Blofeld in SPECTRE (2015)

Bond's biggest nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, finally returned in SPECTRE after disappearing from the Bond movie franchise for over 30 years. The last time we saw Blofeld in a Bond movie was in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY in 1981! The octopus motif in used heavily in the design of the movie. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Holly Goodhead in MOONRAKER (1979)

Dr. Holly Goodhead, the American scientist/ astronaut who helps Bond in fighting with the egomaniac Hugo Drax in this out-of-this-world space adventure. Fantastic designs throughout the movie. One of the most expensive looking Bond movies of all time. I love the movie score. Holly is wearing the Hugo Drax yellow space jumpsuit. In this scene, she and Bond discovers the Drax space station, an "entire city in space"! (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Elliot Carver in TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997)

First portrait from this exciting action-packed Brosnan Bond movie. Elliot Carver is the media mogul who creates chaos and disasters just to sell his newspapers. The neon blue TV monitor wall represents his gigantic media empire. CMGN, The Carver Media Global Network, is Carver's company name. His weapon is the remote control that he holds in his hand. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Another great opportunity to use neon paint. I've used neon paints in explosions. This time it is neon blue which I rarely have the opportunity to use.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)

Blofeld in OHMSS is played by Telly Savalas. The most sporty Blofeld ever. He is actively involved in all the chase scenes throughout the movie. That's a refreshing update from the previous Bond movies. The Savalas Blofled is a formidable character who likes to grab his cigar and his hand and wave it about when he talks. Very aggressive. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Auric Goldfinger in GOLDFINGER (1964)

The iconic Bond villain Auric Goldfinger. A tribute to Bond cannot omit Goldfinger. I like the 1960s technology display behind him. Very retro. Comic book like. And of course, lots of metallic. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Anya Amasova in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)

The role of the Bond leading lady started to shift from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Major Anya Amasova, aka Agent XXX, is written as a true equivalent of Bond. She is Bond's counterpart from the Russians. The relationship between Amasova and Bond changed from competitors to allies, defeating the web-fingered Captain Nemo-like villain Karl Stromberg at the end. Barbara Bach, who plays Amasova, looks glamorous on screen. This diamond accented midnight black velvet gown and clunky black and white jewelry worn by Amasova in the Egypt sequence were so impressive that I had the urge to paint it. This shot from the movie depicts the moment Amasova kneels in front of henchman Jaws to pick up the secret microfilm cartridge everybody was fighting for. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Jill Masterson in GOLDFINGER (1964)

The iconic Golden Girl character from the James Bond movie history. I must include her in the tribute! It was challenging to paint a figure with the face down. And the application of the gold paint on the body was a pure experiment. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Kissy Suzuki in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)

Kissy Suzuki doesn't show up in the movie until half way. She shares almost the same screen time as the other Bond lady in the movie, Aki. Both are Bond's allies but each in her own style. Kissy is shy, and inexperienced, while Aki is the action girl. The most impressive costume in the movie is Kissy's traditional Japanese wedding gown. In this scene, Bond, disguises as a Japanese villager, weds Kissy in a fake ceremony in order to investigate without standing out as a foreigner. The volcano plays an important part in the movie. It is used extensively in the opening title animation and it is also the secret hideout of Bond's nemesis, Blofled. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Raoul Silva in SKYFALL (2012)

This is the first portrait I wanted to paint from SKYFALL. The huge fire at the end of the movie against the pitch black open sky was very dramatic. I try to capture the intensity of the fire in the background. Painting the fire was, I remember, very liberating. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Domino in THUNDERBALL (1965)

THUNDERBALL was a perfect summer movie. The entire movie has sunny sky in the background. Then the underwater scenes, fantastically done for that era, cools you right down. They even created an impressive underwater battle sequence between two gangs of armed frogmen, just to kick the action up a notch. The amazing looking underwater vehicles belong to the villain Emilio Largo. He uses them to transport missiles from a war-plane he buried at the bottom of the sea. The beautiful Domino is Largo's mistress. At the end she gets her revenge with the harpoon. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Melina Havlock in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)

I've always loved the Citroen car chase in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. Fantastic! Classic Bond! The heroine of the movie Melina Havlock is the owner of the beautiful yellow Citroen 2CV. The little car endured a lot of beating running away from the bad guys but eventually succeeded in saving Bond and Melina's lives. I like the composition with the Citroen in the chase in the background, while Melina is standing in front with her ready for action crossbow pose. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Baron Samedi in LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)

Baron Samedi is the first portrait from LIVE AND LET DIE. There are many over-the-top characters in this movie. Baron Samedi, the magical voodoo doctor/ henchman is a fun portrait to paint. In this scene, the Baron rises from the grave and command his men to attack Bond. Explosions and chaos ensue. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas) 

Electra King in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999)

Beautiful but deadly Electra King. Bond's love interest in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. The rich heir to her family's oil pipeline. Electra is a fresh image for a villain in a Bond movie. She is the first female mastermind of an evil plot in a Bond movie. Throughout the movie, Electra is a soft-spoken feminine character until Bond discovers the truth at the end. In her lair on a tiny island in Turkey, in which Electra has an antique torture chair that she uses on Bond. A very interesting piece of furniture to paint. With a gun in one hand and a walkie talkie in the other, Electra King is no doubt the boss. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Renard in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999)

I find painting villains in newer Bond movies very satisfying. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH has a pair of villains, Renard and his lover the beautiful yet ambitious Electra King. They have to be painted as a pair. Renard has a fantastic action sequence in a decommissioned missile silo where he steals a nuclear warhead. Explosions everywhere. Great music score that make the sequence close to perfection. This action sequence is one of the best for Pierce Brosnan's time as Bond. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Ernst Stavro Blofeld in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)

If I paint another Blofeld, I must include his beloved white cat. This portrait of Blofeld was the first time I use sticky rhinestones to make shiny objects stand out. A lot of fun doing it and I am happy with the result. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas) 

Franz Sanchez in LICENCE TO KILL (1989)

First character from the two Timothy Dalton films. First time I attempted to paint an iguana. What a beautiful creature in shades of green and brown. The background is from the movie. Sanchez is well protected behind this thick wall of glass blocks in his office. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

J.I.M. Diving Suit Henchman in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)

Like FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY was another realistic Bond adventure. The first character that inspired me to paint wasn't the main villain or the Bond lady. It was this scary henchmen wearing this indestructible J.I.M. diving suit. It was featured in a very intense underwater action sequence. One of the most suspenseful moments in Bond movie history. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Nick Nack in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)

In THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, the 6'5" villain Scaramanga (played by Christopher Lee) and his 3'11" henchman Nick Nack (played by Hervé Villechaize) make a fantastic pair. It's quite clear that after Scaramanga was painted, I must paint Nick Nack too. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Rosa Klebb in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)

The movie FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is very realistic. No crazy villains with birth defects, no out of this world set pieces. The locations are all over Europe. Vienna is the last location Bond visits. That's where Rosa Klebb, the evil henchwoman from Spectre, was sent to rob Bond of a decoder gadget. She disguises as the hotel maid in this scene. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)

First character portrait from the movie DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. The first double-portrait in this project. It was fun to try to capture the intensity of the flames that comes from the burning shishkabob skewers Mr Kidd holds in his hands, and see the reflections of the flames in his glasses. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Fiona Volpe in THUNDERBALL (1965)

It is a lot of fun to paint bad girls. They are beautiful but deadly. It's a challenge to make sure their evil sides show. Fiona Volpe, the iconic James Bond bad girl. Henchwoman to the villain Emilio Largo. She sets the standard for many more bad girl characters to follow. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Karl Stromberg in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME was the first new James Bond movie I saw in the cinema. I was a teenager in the 70s. After watching the movie, I was hooked on Bond. Fortunately I had the opportunity to see all the older Bond movies in repertoire cinemas in the 70s. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME was an expensive looking movie. The locations, the sets, the car, the action, the music, the fantastic Major Anya Amasova ... all the Bond elements are at work. The result was pretty mind-blowing for the 1970s. Of all the fantastic Ken Adam set designs, the spider-like villain's lair was the most jaw dropping. I must paint it! (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Gustav Graves in DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)

Time to paint a recent Bond villain.... Gustav Graves is a classic Bond villain. He has big plans to bring chaos to the world. In the movie, he builds a death star machine in the sky that he can control from an electronic glove-like attachment on his arm. It was fun to try to paint shiny metallic surfaces on this gadget. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Hugo Drax in MOONRAKER (1979)

MOONRAKER was a spectacular movie with many very expensive and fantastic sets designed by Ken Adam. My favorite of all the sets is probably this amber coloured pyramid shaped control centre where Drax, the main villain,  launches his space shuttles he named Moonrakers. If I have to paint one of the sets from the movie, this set has to be the first one. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

James Bond in MOONRAKER (1979)

After painting Blofeld from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, I was in a sci-fi state of mind. The next portrait I felt like painting Mr. Bond himself. The most challenging Bond costume to paint is probably the space suit he wears in MOONRAKER. It was a challenge all right. I never painted a costume like that before. So I tried. It was fun to try to capture the glittery foil fabric on the costume. I am particularly fond of the plain dark blue outer space background. Simple and effective. The stars were painted with the tip of a toothpick. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Ernst Stavro Blofeld in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)

Blofeld is Bond's nemesis in the series. I cannot have a Bond characters tribute without one portrait of Blofeld. Of course, the first portrait would come from from the next Bond movie, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. Not only was this the first painting that I learned how to paint a dramatically lit face of a big villain. This painting is also the first time I tried to paint an iconic Bond movie set. The volcano lair in the movie was so impressive I knew that I had to paint it sooner or later. This gave me the opportunity to study the set design by Ken Adam, the wizard who designed many iconic sets in the Bond movies. Who doesn't love a fake volcano that opens to a rocket launch pad? Only Bond movies can do that! (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Emilio Largo in THUNDERBALL (1965)

After Oddjob from GOLDFINGER, the next character I wanted to paint was from the next Bond movie, THUNDERBALL: Emilio Largo, an agent of Spectre. The entire movie took place at the Bahamas. This is the movie that introduced the iconic underwater battle scenes in Bond movies. It was spectacular. I remember how impressed I was by the underwater photography and the glamorous exoic locations after seeing the movie in a repertoire cinema when I was a teenager in the 1970s. Largo's evil pets are the sharks that he keeps in his swimming pool. I must draw at least one shark into the background. The shark in the painting was from a photo of a shark I found on Google. It was difficult to paint the flexible body of a fish. I think it works. However I discovered that palm trees were not something I knew how to paint. The result is pretty cartoonish. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas) 

May Day in A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)

I've always been a huge fan of Grace Jones. Of course I must paint May Day from A VIEW TO A KILL. May Day wears many interesting leather outfits from the movie, but I was particularly attracted to this bright red dress in the horse racing scene. This is the first appearance of May Day, a genetically modified super-human. In the movie, the drugs that made her powerful also made her deadly and psychotic. The colour red is perfect in capturing her fiery character. The background is the Golden Gate Bridge which is the main back drop of the latter half of the movie. The view from the bridge was so breath-taking that caused May Day to utter the line "from a view to a kill" from the villain's lair, a blimp that belongs to the Zorin Corporation. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Francisco Scaramanga in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)

An iconic piece of James Bond movie props.... the golden gun used by the villain in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. I felt the urge to paint the gun. It's not a James Bond tribute series without a few of the iconic props. Of course that also meant I had to paint Scaramanga. No question about that! First time I realized Anglo-Saxon men tend to have longer faces and long nose bridges. First time I discovered the joy of using metallic paint! That's the beginning of a personal touch on these portraits... I always try to incorporate some metallic paint in many portraits to follow. The background is a tapestry hanging on the wall in this scene in the movie. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Xenia Onatopp in GOLDENEYE (1995)

After painting four male characters, I was itchy to paint a portrait of a Bond lady. The first one that came to mind was Xenia Onatopp, a beautiful but deadly assassin who could kill a person in the tight grip of her thighs! This shot of Xenia in the casino was from her second encounter with Bond in the movie. The casino scenes are classic in Bond movies. However, I thought a casino background was a little generic. I opted to use graphics from the opening animated sequence from the movie as the background instead. 

This is the first portrait of a woman I had attempted to paint. The shading is very different than that of a male character. The character needed to be as attractive as the actress Femka Janssen but that over confident snarky attitude is what makes the character so interesting to paint. This is also the first portrait I learn to paint the costume as accurately as in the movie. The long thin cigar in her hand was the first time I realized how Bond characters use props to show aggression. This theme will repeat many times in other portraits in this series. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

Oddjob in GOLDFINGER (1964)

Another iconic henchman in the James Bond movie series ... Oddjob from GOLDFINGER! Powerful, confident, cynical and menacing. It was a challenge to capture his evil grin. I kept the background simple because by then I had many ideas of other characters that I wanted to paint. I wanted to finish this painting quickly. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas) 

Jaws in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)

Who is the most iconic henchman of all the James Bond movies? It had to be Jaws. Jaws appeared in both THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977) and again in MOONRAKER (1979). Comical and scary. A main ingredient of the comic-book like adventures of the 1970s Roger Moore Bond era. So much fun to paint a larger than life character! This is the first  time I attempted to paint explosion... does it look explosive? (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas) 

Dr. No in DR. NO (1962)

The second portrait had to be the first main villain of the movie series: the classic Bond villain Dr. No. This is the first true portrait I've done. From this exercise I learned to paint the face, the shading, the likeness and most importantly, capturing the expression. From painting Dr. No's metal-gloved hands, I noticed the effect when lights shine from different directions could produce overlapping layers of shadows of different intensity. The giant fish in the tank behind him are hilarious. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

James Bond in SPECTRE (2015)

Inspired by the classic hand-painted James Bond movie posters from the 1960s - 1970s, I started the concept in 2015 of making small (8' x 10") acrylic paintings of James Bond character portraits. The concept started as practice for character paintings which I have always fascinated by but have never tried it myself. See how the first one goes. (8" x 10" acrylic on canvas)

I added neon white acrylic paint to make the portrait glow in the dark. After this I was hooked.