I first got the idea to do a bobblehead Dwight Schrute painting a couple of years ago. You know me – I’m all about ridiculousness. One day, I was exploring and just playing around in my sketchbook, trying to come up with ideas for what my next painting would be.

I posted a picture of an empty canvas on my easel and asked my community to give me wrong answers only as to what would be painted there.

Someone mentioned Bobblehead Dwight, and that started gnawing at the back of my head. I could totally do that, and it would be super funny! But how could I kick it up a notch to give me some techniques to practice?

So I ordered this Bobblehead Dwight Schrute from Amazon and decided I’d create the painting as a still life instead of trying to come up with my own look for the signature bobblehead doll from “Valentine’s Day” (That’s Season 2, Episode 16 of The Office).

But then… THEN. I was at Hobby Lobby and found these great wood panels in different sizes on sale. (Actually, I don’t think these are exactly what I bought – mine have more rounded corners. But you get the idea.)

And there was one panel that looked small enough to be a head, if it was layered over a larger panel.

A bobblehead, if you will.

And that was it, I got to work. My Bobblehead Dwight Schrute painting took over two years to complete, which sounds super impressive.

It wasn’t so much that it took a long time to paint. I spent a good long time planning out the composition and colors, and I got all my values blocked in. Then life got busy, and I was really trying to noodle something around in my brains.

How could I get this layered wood panel painting to have real, interactive, bobblehead action?

That took the longest… and it was like I couldn’t move forward without figuring out that key to the puzzle. Once I knew how I was going to make that happen, though? The rest of the painting just kind of tumbled out onto the wood panels like it had been waiting to get out there for months.

How did I create the interactive part of the world’s very first bobblehead painting with real bobblehead action? That part is a secret, my friends. Because tinkering around and figuring this stuff out is part of the fun!

If you haven’t quite made it out to Gallery at Hood Street to see my bobblehead Dwight Schrute painting, there’s still time! It’ll be hanging at 136 Hood Street, McDonough GA 30253 for the next couple of weeks.

You can also give this very special painting a home by visiting my shop.