Adam Driver #125 (British GQ Dec 2017)
Adam, suit-clad torso turned toward our right, collar length hair falling in neat waves, face turned to look over his left shoulder at us, eyes soft above a bearded mouth set in gentle repose, leaning back slightly to counterbalance the weight of his dog, Moose, cradled in his arms.
Lordy lordy, Adam's forty, and we couldn't be happier to see him officially settle into his middle age.
Here's hoping he has a day filled with love, laughter, joy, good food and drink, and even better company. Happy 40th Birthday, Adam!
In what's now definitely become a tradition of mine, I've chosen to honor Adam's birthday by painting him with his beloved dog, Moose, for a 4th time. I just can't think of anything more appropriate for the occasion than painting this man with his favorite ever birthday present.
Here he is with Moose in the autumn of 2017, about the time Adam was filming "BlackKklansman." The small bags under his eyes tell a tale of someone who is tired, but the rest of his demeanor implies he's happily so. His face is mostly blank, with only the tiniest bit of knitting between his brows, but the roundness of his eyes, the pursing of his lower eyelids, and the tiniest tilt at the corners of his otherwise relaxed mouth hint at his contented mood. Even at 34, you can see the beginnings of the tracks that his dimples have since etched more deeply into his cheeks, as well as the first few crinkles of his crow's feet just at the crest of his cheekbones, and I love the unselfconscious twist of his head that's creating beautiful deep folds in the skin of his neck; many celebrities avoid poses that wrinkle their skin or make second chins, but Adam never does. The light is catching on his right iris as it curves through his cornea, casting a gentle refracted glow on the shaded side of his sclera. It's also running along the sharp edge of his scapula, which is winged out a little under the neat tailoring of his suit thanks to the large dog he's holding in his arms.
For his part, Moose looks happy, if a tiny bit anxious; his mouth is opened to pant gently, tongue neatly tucked between his canines, and his ear is pinned back and open, like he's listening carefully. If he were really relaxed we wouldn't be seeing that shiny pale peek of his inner pinna, it would be hidden by the softly furred flap of the outer side of his ear. His soft gaze is cast toward our left, revealing the edge of his sclera, which is another sign he's less than perfectly comfortable, it's unusual to see the whites of a dog's eye, but I think some of that is because we're looking at him from the side; if his gaze was similarly fixed upon us like Adam's is, the white would be hidden by his eyelids, which aren't opened wide in alarm. I suspect the source of his mild unease is that he isn't sure about being held up like this; Adam has him in a gently firm, secure hold, but a dog this big is accustomed to having paws on the floor, not dangling in the air. He's a beautiful big boy with a sleek, shiny coat; I love his long soft muzzle with all it's glorious whiskers. I'm particularly fond of the two super long ones he has on his chin, and also the ones just above his eyes, in his brows. He also has a white streak on his chest, which you can see above the crook of Adam's elbow.
Photo used for reference was most likely taken in Oct 2017 by Matthew Brookes for the 12 Dec 2017 edition of British GQ. I suspect it might have been more like September, given that his beard isn't quite fully grown in like it was for Flip, and we know "BlackKklansman" was filmed in October. Regrettably I don't have any decent recent photos of Moose with His Person, though there are a few cell phone videos of him at the stage door for "Burn This," anxiously awaiting Adam at the end of the autograph line, as well as the notorious paparazzi photos taken in Rome over the Easter weekend in 2021, and a couple of peeks of him in the back of SUVs at the edge of various film sets in 2022. Here's hoping that a photographer includes Moose in a proper photoshoot again sometime soon!
About 11.5 hrs of painting time.
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