Custom portraiture and paintings of Sonja’s toys
9″x12″ acrylic, 2011. Stephen wrote me that his wife was looking at my website and “complaining that our kids don’t actually have favorite stuffed animals to paint.” His clever, thoughtful solution to this problem was to order a portrait of his wife’s own beloved chilhood bear as a gift for her upcoming birthday! This well-worn bear is missing an eye, which he strategically and stylishly hides with his pyjama cap.
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. Wow, I jumped right out of my chair when I saw the photos of this lion! He is identical to my own lion Hubert, right down to his missing black spectacles. This toy is the life-long favorite of Corissa’s husband, and she commissioned this portrait as a gift for him. The lion is quite large, about two feet tall and with a formidable head… he has a strong, sage-like presence. Here’s another painting of my Hubert along with Tigger and my much younger self.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. This portrait was emotionally frought for all involved, but perhaps it may contribute to a family’s healing from the tragic loss of a loved one. This giraffe, who was the favorite toy of a child who has recently passed away, serves as a lovely, symbolic remembrance. The painting is a gift for the child’s mother from her very thoughtful aunt. I truly hope that this portrait will serve as a subtle commemoration of a child’s happiness for the grieving family.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. I must say that I’m stunned by this rather “antique” specimen of a blanket-head! I had thought the the blanket-with-a-head phenomenon was fairly recent, but this Snoopy was the childhood companion of a man who is now 30 years old! It’s just barely three-dimensional, its head and hands lying rather flatly against the blanket, so it’s not quite the literal hybrid of fully-formed stuffed animal and blanket that you find today. Susan commissioned this portrait for her son in honor of the upcoming birth of his first child!
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. I love the utilitarian names that children sometimes bestow upon their most important posessions! Jennifer’s daughters refer to their favorite stuffed hippo and lamb as their “sleepy” toys, because of course their company is most essential when the girls are tucking in for the night. Jennifer ordered a portrait of each soft, floppy friend, and here is her younger daughter’s Sleepy Hippo.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Six-month-old Thomas sleeps through the night only when tucked in with his bear blanket, and during the day this blue Gund dog rattle is his favorite. Thomas’ father Bob vividly describes the circumstances: “Lord knows my wife and mother-in-law have buried this child under toys, yet he always seems to dig through them to find this dog rattle to shove in his mouth!” Bob thoughtfully envisioned this painting as a Mother’s Day gift for his very loved and lucky wife!
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. In this second of two portraits for Jennifer’s daughters, we see a prime example of a situation I often encounter: The “real,” slightly battered, well-loved toy vs. the “back-up” toy, which is pristine. Originally identical, they now are barely recognizable as related objects! In this case, the “real” Sleepy Lamby had just recently been accidentally burned and subsequently patched on its head. Jennifer sent me photos of the untouched “back-up” lamb as well in order to help me spiff up Sleepy Lamby in his portrait. So here is the lamb with his scalp intact but all the evidence of Jennifer’s daughter’s affection honestly represented in the folds and wrinkles of his face.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. This portrait features favorite childhood objects of both Penny-June and her mother, Kara-Leigh. Hop Hop, a well-worn Jellycat rabbit, belongs to the (adorably named!) Penny-June. Kara-Leigh suggested that Hop Hop be seated on a little wooden chair that was her own when she was small. I like the chiaroscuro lighting on Hop Hop, imbuing him with a bit of mystery… We’ll never know what goes on in that fuzzy head, which is down to its last whisker!
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. There have been a plethora of giraffe portraits happening in my studio lately and I’m loving it! I adore giraffes… at least, in their abstracted, stuffed-toy manifestations. This particular yellow Carter’s giraffe is dear to me because we bought exactly the same one for our Sonja before she was born. This portrait depicts Gee-raff, who belongs to Dale’s 4-month-old baby Evan. Dale commissioned two portraits of their children’s toys for his wife as a Mother’s Day gift. As Evan appears to be determined to devour Gee-raff in its entirety beginning with his horns, Dale and his wife were wise to have also purchased a back-up giraffe!
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. The juxtaposition between the current state of “Brother Bear” and this photo of his of his original condition is, as Nate’s mother Claudia pointed out, “fascinating!” A Baby Gund, this once fluffy and cream-colored bear is now a bit rangy and matted, with grey, dreadlocked fur mostly obscuring his eyes. Claudia ordered this portrait to honor Brother Bear on what appears to be the brink of his becoming obsolete to 7-year-old Nate. This bear replaced an identical bear called “Baby Bear,” lost four years ago, that had been with Nate from birth.
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