8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Don’t be fooled by the color of his clothes — this sweet doll has been known as “Baby Nathan” ever since 6-year-old Anna recieved him as a Christmas gift when she was one. She named him after her big brother Nathan, and to this day finds it perfectly natural that the doll retains his gender and moniker along with the pink pj’s. Anna asked her mother for a portrait of her beloved doll after Nathan recieved a painting of his favorite stuffed bunny last year!
Author: Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait
Star Wars Tub Toys, Two Boys
9″x12″ acrylic, 2012. Check out the expression on two-year-old Carter’s face! Those Star Wars squeeze toys are his, a birthday gift from his mother’s best friend, but it seems that big brother Grant has taken them over. Even though Grant, five, has never seen the movies, he loves to act out elaborate scenes with these rather infantalized versions of the classic Star Wars characters. Whatever — Carter will just be hanging out over here with Elmo. The boys love bath time, and their mother Laura commissioned this painting (which she calls “Toy Envy”) to hang in the family’s bathroom. The Star Wars tub toys were made by Disney.
Tabby Boo
8″x10″ acrylic on canvas, 2012. This classic Vermont Teddy Bear sat virtually unnoticed on baby Kaelen’s bed when it was given to him by his grandmother for his first Christmas. But when he fell in love with the book “Chugga Chugga Choo Choo” a few months later, Kaelen became fascinated by the illustrations of teddy bears inside. He repeatedly asked what they were called, and when his parents would say “teddy bear,” he would not repeat the words, but thoughtfully file them away. One morning when Kaelen’s mother Kelly came into his room, he held up the bear and exclaimed “Tabby Boo!” Kaelen and Tabby Boo have been inseparable ever since. Kelly tells me that Kaelen is sure that he is saying “Teddy Bear” and looks at his parents like they are crazy when they call the bear “Tabby Boo!”
Wind-Up Monkey
7″x8″ acrylic on cardboard, 2012. This cymbal-crashing monkey regularly leads a parade around our house… he is followed by wind-up robots, waddling chickens, swirling teacups, disembodied walking heads, and countless cats which showed up the year Sonja decided all she wanted for Christmas was “a wind-up kitty.” He’s always seemed pretty innocuous to me, but, upon seeing this painting, a friend just reminded me of the menacing monkey from Toy Story 3 and it’s sort of hard for me to look at him the same way! This portrait is currently featured in my exhibit at Uncommon Grounds in Albany.
Hot Wheels GTO Wagon
5″x7″ acrylic, 2012. What would you call the color of this Hot Wheels Classic Series 1966 GTO Wagon? “Spectraflame Blue,” of course! Jessica commissioned this painting as a gift for her husband, who collects Hot Wheels — this is one of his very favorites. Jessica, who found me through etsy, previously had me paint the Bert and Ernie Fisher Price Little People for her son. Their family has admirable taste in classic toys! Jessica herself produces sweet handmade stuffed dolls and toys for her own etsy shop… future classics, perhaps?
Harry Potter Lego
8″x10″ acrylic on canvas, 2012. About eight months ago, Karen Walrond of the wonderful Chookooloonks blog was kind enough to include one of my custom portraits in her 12 Days of Chookooloonks giveaway bonanza. The winner of the portrait, Leah, and I have just now gotten around to making the painting happen! She and her husband, who were just married this year, both adore Legos and had seen my Boba Fett Lego guy painting. They took some time to carefully consider what sort of Lego they’d like to have hanging on their wall, and ultimately settled on Harry Potter! This little minifigure is actually attached to a keychain, which Leah asked that I omit.
Little Lamb
This little stuffed lamb is mostly called “Doggy” by six-year-old Hero, who pulls it around the house on a pink leash. Hero’s mother Erynn has learned that, as a result, Doggy’s white wool can be used to gauge of the cleanliness of the floors… who knew there was so much dirt on those tiles? This is the third of three portraits commissioned by Erynn her daughters’ favorite toys. You can see Cora’s babydoll here, and click here to see Philippa’s stuffed sloth!
Pull-Toy Group
11″x14″ acrylic, 2012. What fun I’ve had painting all these clever wooden hand-made toys! You may have seen my individual portraits of this bear, duck, and grasshopper earlier this summer, and this group portrait brings in a fourth toy. The rabbit is overturned to reveal the signature of Pops, Barbara’s talented and generous late father. “Pops” made beautiful toys for several generations of his family, and Barbara commissioned this quartet of portraits to honor him and his lovely work.
Cora’s Doll
5″x7″ acrylic, 2012. This sweet doll looks just like eight-year-old Cora did as a baby, and is now her most beloved toy. Cora’s mom Erynn tells me that when Cora’s little sister Hero was born, Cora changed, nursed, and burped the doll alongside Erynn and Hero. Cora adores her little sister, and now that Hero is older, she sometimes lets her play with the babydoll too. Erynn has commissioned a portrait of each of her three girls’ favorite toys… click here to see little Phillipa’s stuffed sloth! Hero’s Lamby is up next.
Luke and Leia Legos
8″x10″ acrylic on cardboard, 2012. When Star Wars meets Lego, it’s just impossibly, deliciously nerdy. While I was painting my Luke and Leia 1970’s action figures a couple of weeks ago, I kept giving these two the side-eye… they belong to my husband Greg, of course, who has all manner of plastic geekery on hand. This will hang next to its action figure counterpart in my current show at Uncommon Grounds . The show is selling well, so I’m busily painting new pieces to re-stock! Click here to see my portrait of a Lego Boba Fett.