8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. A couple of months ago, Colleen from Saratoga Mama brilliantly suggested that I should paint a Sophie the Giraffe so that I could make prints available of the classic, iconic teething toy. This particular Sophie is one of several(!) recieved by my close friends’ sweet new baby, Ian. Here, Sophie stands atop Ian’s blue Boppy, where I also posed Ian’s stuffed owl. These giraffes, currently a go-to status baby gift, have been made in France since the fifties. Here’s a wonderful video showing how these hand-painted, natural rubber are made:
Prints of the Sophie portrait can be ordered here!
Category: Toy Portraits
Custom portraiture and paintings of Sonja’s toys
Fleagle
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. I’m sure that this is not an uncommon position for favorite toys to find themselves in these days, propped up or flung upon various technological accoutrements! I was unreasonably excited when Clint, this pup’s owner, gave me the thumbs-up to include the phone and the computer mouse in the final portrait. So modern! Fleagle was originally given to Clint’s younger sister by their parents when they were little, but Clint was more interested in him and quickly claimed ownership. The toy has traveled with Clint into adulthood and now into the arms of his own little girl, Mia, who is highly amused by the wacky personality which Clint has infused in Fleagle via a sort of puppetry! Clint recieved a gift certificate for this custom portrait from his sister-in-law Deanna.
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.
Ian’s Owl
5″x7″ acrylic, 2012. As soon my dear friends Jon and Brian began the process of adopting a baby, their friend Mary rushed out immediately and bought this owl. Since that point, a couple of years fraught with anticipation and frustration culminated in the very recent addition of baby Ian to their family. Jon and Brian made sure that this owl, which is certainly symbolic of the support and will of their loved ones, was tucked in next to Ian as soon as he safely home. While visiting the adorable baby, I was able to take my own photos of the little toy, and I can tell you that it is incredibly soft and has a sort of comical presence. It’s made by an offshoot of Tomy called My Natural. If I had a chance, I might advise the company the their little sewn logo by the owl’s foot looked alarmingly like an angry alien face to me before I found out that it was a stem-and-leaf motif!
Bun Bun Pillow
9″x12″ acrylic, 2012. This portrait shall forever be known to me as the one that taught me a valuable lesson about social media! It was commissioned by Michele, who had learned about my business on Dooce last year but was actually local and had gone to high school with my husband. Small world! The painting would be a gift for her sister, Morgan, who was expecting twin boys, for her upcoming baby shower. Well, after she dropped off Morgan’s beloved childhood stuffed bunny, I was quite excited both about having a “live” model to paint and also about the challenge of making a printed-fabric toy appear three dimensional on canvas. So I took a snapshot of my floppy guest and posted it to my Your Toy Portrait Facebook page. Several hours later, I got an email from Michele telling me that a her cousin had somehow seen the photo on Facebook and, thinking, “Hey, that looks like Morgan’s Bun Bun!” he posted to Morgan’s page! Morgan evidently burst out laughing, looked around and found that Bun Bun was missing, and called Michele saying “What have you done?” Michele assured me (I was HORRIFIED) that Morgan had no idea what was happening specifically, so it would still be a suprise. Since this incident, of course, if there is any chance of the recipient finding out about it, I never discuss an in-progress portrait online! Lesson learned. In other news, this very soft, sweet-faced bunny is one of the few toys that have come into my studio that was absolutely adored by my daughter! We were both sorry to see Bun Bun go.
Warm and Cold Puppies
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Well, I’m fascinated by the fact that small children can evidently distinguish warm colors from cool colors. I showed this portrait to my three year old and asked her to tell me which she reckoned was the Warm Puppy and which was the Cold Puppy, and she WITHOUT HESITATION pointed to the correct toys! They were given their clever monikers by Susan’s little boy Graham, who turns five next week. Susan tells me that, actually, “Cold Puppy” was so-called due to his less-substantial, de-fluffed state in comparison to Warm Puppy, but I’m confident that the dogs’ respective colors were intrinsic to the naming process. Cold Puppy was given to Graham at birth, and Warm Puppy was purchased later as a back-up. However, as has been shown repeatedly in my data-collection, such a hierarchy seldom lasts! Warm Puppy soon became a constant companion as well, although Cold Puppy still enjoys a bit of favoritism.
Baby Lion
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Just before the holidays I had the pleasure and honor of being included in a wonderful giveaway bonanza hosted by Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks. In a moment of expansive generosity, Karen concocted the Twelve Days of Chookooloonks, in which each day a reader recieved some manner of artistic prize. My custom portraits were featured on the fourth day of Chookooloonks, and Karen included a photo of her daughter Alex’s beloved Baby Lion. As far as she can recall, Baby Lion was a gift at Alex’s baby shower, and has been Alex’s favorite since before she could walk. His mane has been loved down into a matted helmet at this point… He travels everywhere with the family and sleeps with eight-year-old Alex every night. “When Alex’s alarm goes off,” Karen writes, “if she decides to crawl in bed with us for an early-morning snuggle before hitting the showers, invariably Baby Lion crawls in bed with us too.” I love to paint lions, and it was a joy to spend time contemplating this little guy’s unique expression and attitute!
Mr. Lion
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. You have a back-up for your little one’s favorite toy? Robin’s son has SEVEN of these lions! She tells me that he is obsessed — they keep one in the car (“Car Lion”) and he sleeps with almost all of them. (I assume Car Lion is the one who doesn’t make it into the bed.) Whenever another Mr. Lion appears on Ebay, Robin snatches him up to bolster the family’s supply. He’s a beautiful lion and is clearly deserving of such affection!
Pup-Pup
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Richard reckons that his nephew George attached to this stuffed dog partly to parallel his big sister Evie’s beloved Bug-Bug. But it’s clear from the graying and wear on Pup-Pup that George’s love for him is lasting and true! Evie’s portrait of Bug-Bug has been hanging in her room ever since her third birthday, and she is now approaching five. Their uncle Richard thought that George would enjoy having Pup-Pup watch over him at night, too! George will recieve this portrait for his own upcoming third birthday in February.
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!