I’ve painted many Jellycat bunnies, but the story attached to this little guy is particularly moving. He belongs to Boothe’s daughter Lulu, whose birth marked the end of a period of immense loss and sorrow for the family. Lulu’s “spunky, little wildflower spirit” reminds Boothe of Isaiah 61: “[He will] provide for those who grieve… bestow on them a crown of wildflowers instead of ashes.” She describes Lulu, who is almost five, as “feisty and hilarious and quite literally does things – EVERY thing – in her own remarkably funky fashion.” Bobo the bunny, originally called Bo, was chosen early on as the favorite from among a slew of Jellycat toys awaiting Lulu’s arrival, and has remained her “one true love.” Bobo has travelled to at least twenty states (including Hawaii!) at Lulu’s side and is often found dressed in doll clothes or Lulu’s own baby clothes. In this portrait, Bobo sports Lulu’s own monogrammed baby shoes! Boothe recently came upon Lulu rocking Bobo, singing to him and attempting to teach him his colors. “I wonder how long she’ll love him,” Boothe wrote me, “He’s been a precious reminder of the sweetness that Lulu is. In my own way, I’ll always cherish Bobo, too, which I think is why I so wanted this portrait to be done.”
Tag: Jellycat
Hedgie
9″x12″ acrylic on canvas, 2013. My very favorite thing about this stuffed Jellycat hedgehog is that one-year-old Jack carries him in his mouth by the nose. I wish that I had set up a tag at some point for this phenomenon, as I’m sure I’ve had several other portrait subjects that were transported in this manner but can’t recall which ones… I’d love to look back over them and see if there’s a particular trait that invites this behavior! Jenny Witte of the wonderful Mamatoga blog came by this custom portrait at an auction benefitting the Children’s Museum of Saratoga. It will go nicely alongside the painting she won last year at the same event! Big sister Levy’s stuffed bunny and brother Finn’s stuffed pup are featured in my previous portrait for the family, who are clearly Jellycat devotees. Here are Levy and Finn painting their favorite toys at a children’s paint-your-own-toy-portrait event I recently hosted as part of the Saratoga Arts Fest “Kids Do Art” program… We are so lucky in the Saratoga area to have blogs like Mamatoga and folks like Jenny who support local arts and family businesses!
Vivi’s Bunny
8″x10″ acrylic on canvas, 2013. The devotion inspired by Jellycat bunnies is quite something! Children absolutely adore them. I’ve painted many a beloved Jellycat, and where there is one, there are often several. Kids wear them right out, so extras for rotation and replacement are essential! This particular bunny (and it’s three back-ups) is a special edition released by Anthropologie, with incredibly soft, heathery fur. Vivi’s mom, Casey, happened upon a pile of them while wandering around an Anthropologie while eleven months pregnant. She figured that since it was the year of the rabbit, a stuffed bunny would be a perfect gift for the new baby. Sure enough, Vivi takes Bunny everywhere and sleeps with him in a choke hold every single night. The four doppelgangers are rotated for even wear and to keep them “equally stinky and crusty,” as Casey wrote in her Babble blog. A few years ago I painted Casey’s own childhood favorite stuffed bear. If you’re not already familiar with Casey’s Moosh in Indy blog, check it out for extraordinary photographs and wonderful stories of her parenting journey.
Jellycat Bunny and Bear
9″x12″ acrylic, 2012. This bunny and bear belong to three-year-old Lily and Zoe respectively, and the toys were carefully posed by their mother Andrea to reflect the girls’ loving relationship. Lily and Zoe are identical twins, but have very distinct personalities… to their parents they look as different from each other as these two toys. Zoe is just slightly smaller, and Lily as very protective of her sister. This portrait is also another testament to the uncanny appeal of Jellycat toys, as I have painted this same style of white bunny many times! Andrea tells me that she let her girls choose this bear and bunny from the Jellycat website when they were very small, and they wandered around kissing crumpled paper print-outs of the toys while waiting for them to arrive!
Doggy and Bun-Bun
9″x12″ acrylic, 2012. This was my fourth occasion to paint this particular style of white Jellycat bunny! This time, however, I got to witness in person how soft and irresistable Jellycat toys are, and the devotion they inspire. These two belong to the children of Jenny of the wonderful Mamatoga blog, who won the custom portrait I donated to an auction benefiting the Children’s Museum of Saratoga. I had the pleasure of visiting Jenny and meeting the adorable kids, and was able to set up the “photo shoot” for the toys myself! “Doggy” was originally a baby toy for Leven, who is now almost four, but was adopted by Finn, who is five. Levy now has this bunny in three sizes, and she sleeps with all of them! This middle-sized one is known as ” Bun-Bun.” It was really fun to watch the kids interact with the toys… they were quite relieved that I showed up just to take photos and not to take them away for an extended modeling session!
Emerson’s Bunny
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. While painting this bunny, I was absolutely mesmerized by the rich, pinkish-coral of this bunny’s inner ear. I appreciate a not-quite pink in a world of cotton-candy colored toys! This Jellycat bunny is the least-tattered and grungy of 3 identical bunnies (two are back-ups, but all are in use, OF COURSE) belonging to Morgan’s daughter Emerson. The original bunny was purchased for Emerson before she was born by her excited father. Morgan tells me that Emerson will not let her throw away the older, disintegrated bunnies, and actually seems to prefer them to the newest! Emerson loves to suck on the ears, so those are usually the first to go. This portrait will be a gift for Emerson from Morgan for her upcoming second birthday.
Lammy
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. I encounter so many adorable stuffed toys in my business that I’m, perhaps, slightly more immune to their charms than the average Joe. But this sheep… I covet this sheep. It’s a Jellycat which has clearly been loved ardently. Heidi tells me that to her daughter Caroline, Lammy is, like the Velveteen Rabbit, “real.” Lammy is subject to all kinds of “hairstyles” concocted by three-year-old Caroline, which mostly involve flower clips being attached all over her fur. Caroline is quite upset that she won’t be able to bring Lammy to preschool on due to her being larger than a back pack (take note parents!) This painting is one of two that Heidi commissioned for her children of their favorite things. The other is a group portrait of a stuffed dog and some classic books!
Tickle Bunny
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. At one year old, Sophie seems to be giving her adored stuffed bunny a name! He has been known simply as “Bunny” ever since he was given to Sophie in the hospital at her birth. But recently, Sophie’s mom Allison tells me, Sophie has consistently said “Tickle” each time she picks the bunny up and greets him. Sophie likes to kiss his nose and squeeze him tight while saying “Awwwwwwww!” When her parents take her out of the crib in the morning, Sophie is sure to grab Tickle(?) too, so he doesn’t miss out on any of the fun! You can see two other portraits that I’ve done previously of this particular model of Jellycat bunny here and here.
August’s Bunny
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. 16-month-old August was given many stuffed toys when he was born, but this Jellycat bunny quickly emerged as his very favorite. He carries it everywhere, chews on its ears, and sleeps with his face buried in its fur. The bunny usually smells terrible as it can only be pried from August’s arms for washing when he is fast asleep! This is the second of two portraits commissioned by August’s mother Cassandra for her sons. Click here to see big brother Elijah’s stuffed monkey, and here to see another Jellycat bunny portrait I painted a few months ago.
bunny – this is my son, august’s sleeping buddy. august is only 16 months old and he buries his face in the bunny and chews on his ears. august carries the bunny absolutely everywhere! lots of people gave augie stuffed animals when he was born. his room is full of them, but for whatever reason, he became attached to this little bunny and he sleeps with him each night. the bunny actually smells terrible from spit up, food spills and other random catastrophes, but i can only wash him after august falls asleep and if i feel confident enough to pry the little bunny out of his hands without waking him 🙂
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Orange Anteater
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. I love worn, washed-out lovies, but Veronika rocked my world with this orange velour anteater and a preference for an aqua background! Because Veronika has friends who are local to me, I was lucky enough to meet Veronika personally when she came to pick up the painting and also to have the toy model “live” in my studio. It was such fun to see Veronika’s excited reaction! She bought this Jellycat anteater (or aardvark, according to the Jellycat site) while pregnant with baby Kamar, who is just about to turn one. Although Kamar has not specifically attached to the anteater yet, Veronika has, and she hopes that this portrait will help cultivate the toy’s importance in Kamar’s eyes!
Order a print of this painting:
More info about prints here.