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Description

Adam, lean-cheeked and clean shaven, hair in a neatly arranged, slightly shaggy bob, a coy tilt to his head, a twinkle in his eye, and a winsome smile curving his lips and rumpling his dimples as he tickles both the ivories at his fingertips and our sense of humor during his 2023 SNL monologue to Santa.

Hey, Santa! He turned 40 this year, so he'd like 5 pairs of chinos, and he's finally not ashamed to admit it.

Our favorite dry-humoured old soul hosted SNL for the 4th time and gave the Rats a very special surprise gift during his monologue, in the form of his beautiful piano playing during his hilarious recitation of his wishlist for Santa. We knew he played as a teen from a photo found in one of his high school yearbooks, and we've seen evidence of his skills as an adult several times-- he has a small scene where he's noodling on a piano at a wedding during an episode of "Girls," and we even have a potato quality photo of him playing on a baby grand between takes on "House of Gucci"-- but we'd never really heard or seen him playing like THIS before.

And he played so well! Dynamics, phrasing, fluidity, it was a delight for the ears, and as much of a joy to watch as it was to hear! It made all of the musicians in the Driver Hive perk up and go, WHEN does he have the TIME to practice?? Because, dear reader, in order to play that beautifully, with such fantastic posture, grace, and sensitivity, WHILE TALKING and NOT LOOKING AT HIS HANDS, that man definitely has a daily, or at least several times weekly, practice routine.

The rest of the skits were all gifts too, each in their own "special" way, and honestly if the fan service in that episode doesn't answer the question of, "do the SNL writers look at Twitter when they're in search of inspiration for his skits," I don't know what does. The episode might not garner him another Emmy nomination, but I'm pretty convinced this one wasn't for the awards folks, it was for the Rats.

And so, here's my little gift to all of you; a portrait of him at his most winsomely charming, playing that piano. Happy Solstice to you all! May your holidays, however you celebrate, be filled with warmth and love as we welcome the return of the light at the turning of the year.

The reference for this one was the least blurry screencap I could take of that priceless moment during Adam's opening monologue for his 4th stint as host on SNL on 9 Dec 2023. It's still pretty blurry, but it was good enough!

About 7.5 hrs of painting time, mostly because this was an exercise in just leaning into the blurriness of it all; not so many fine details, mostly just vibes.

Description

Adam, lean-cheeked and clean shaven, hair in a neatly arranged, slightly shaggy bob, a coy tilt to his head, a twinkle in his eye, and a winsome smile curving his lips and rumpling his dimples as he tickles both the ivories at his fingertips and our sense of humor during his 2023 SNL monologue to Santa.

Hey, Santa! He turned 40 this year, so he'd like 5 pairs of chinos, and he's finally not ashamed to admit it.

Our favorite dry-humoured old soul hosted SNL for the 4th time and gave the Rats a very special surprise gift during his monologue, in the form of his beautiful piano playing during his hilarious recitation of his wishlist for Santa. We knew he played as a teen from a photo found in one of his high school yearbooks, and we've seen evidence of his skills as an adult several times-- he has a small scene where he's noodling on a piano at a wedding during an episode of "Girls," and we even have a potato quality photo of him playing on a baby grand between takes on "House of Gucci"-- but we'd never really heard or seen him playing like THIS before.

And he played so well! Dynamics, phrasing, fluidity, it was a delight for the ears, and as much of a joy to watch as it was to hear! It made all of the musicians in the Driver Hive perk up and go, WHEN does he have the TIME to practice?? Because, dear reader, in order to play that beautifully, with such fantastic posture, grace, and sensitivity, WHILE TALKING and NOT LOOKING AT HIS HANDS, that man definitely has a daily, or at least several times weekly, practice routine.

The rest of the skits were all gifts too, each in their own "special" way, and honestly if the fan service in that episode doesn't answer the question of, "do the SNL writers look at Twitter when they're in search of inspiration for his skits," I don't know what does. The episode might not garner him another Emmy nomination, but I'm pretty convinced this one wasn't for the awards folks, it was for the Rats.

And so, here's my little gift to all of you; a portrait of him at his most winsomely charming, playing that piano. Happy Solstice to you all! May your holidays, however you celebrate, be filled with warmth and love as we welcome the return of the light at the turning of the year.

The reference for this one was the least blurry screencap I could take of that priceless moment during Adam's opening monologue for his 4th stint as host on SNL on 9 Dec 2023. It's still pretty blurry, but it was good enough!

About 7.5 hrs of painting time, mostly because this was an exercise in just leaning into the blurriness of it all; not so many fine details, mostly just vibes.