The Original James Bond honors the late Sir Sean Connery, the actor who defined 007 for the world. This acrylic and aluminum portrait on canvas is the first in my James Bond series, and the only one that doesn’t name its actor in the title, since Connery was the original.
Each portrait in the series carries its own repeating background symbol tied to that actor’s era; Connery’s is a hand-stamped dry martini pattern, a nod to his signature line, “shaken, not stirred,” with a lemon twist worked in as a hidden nod to 007 himself. Metallic accents coat everything that would catch light in real life, the lapels, bow tie, cuff buttons, and gun, while a spot varnish reading “Bond. James Bond” is visible only from certain angles. The painting began, like the rest of the series, as an abstract underpainting of drips, splatters, and polka dots, layered over in black but never fully hidden.
