8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. These two seem to have that certain something — those great big, round, maniacal eyes seem to say, “take us home so we can stare at you from that presently blank spot on your wall!” I have sold two variations on this theme this year already, so I thought I would make another one for an upcoming show. I’m not sure if their paths would actually cross in their bizarro Japanese pop culture worlds, but I’d like to think so,
Category: Toy Portraits
Custom portraiture and paintings of Sonja’s toys
Knit Cow
5″x7″ acrylic, 2009. This little painting is of one of the L’attitude Enfant series of adorable yarn animals that we got at Target. It is also another example of a toy that I think is irresistable and that Sonja really couldn’t care less about. We have a whole posse of these things and she barely acknowledges them. Hey, guess what her newest, proudest, loudest word of the week is? ELMO.
Abby
8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. This is the second toy-and-painting gift combo I’ve done this fall… I think it’s a great idea. This portrait and the doll who sat for it will be a Christmas gift for Amelia, Thomas and Nora‘s cousin who lives in California. Although none of us old Sesame Street purists can understand the charm of Abby Cadabby, little Amelia goes completely bonkers whenever this rather quesionable female archtype shows up on TV. No Amelia, you cannot be a fairy when you grow up.
Toy/Portrait
8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. This painting of my daughter Sonja sort of qualifies as a toy portrait, in that she has a toy car in her hand. I’ve been known to depict the occasional human, so bring on any combination of toy, person, animal, and/or object you like and I’d be delighted to paint it for you!
Hubert
8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. Hubert has been with me since I was a baby. He is about 2 feet tall and used to sport a black pince-nez. To say that he’s seen better days is an understatement — he’s kind of too dirty to cuddle, but is still awesome and might just continue to pose in the corner of my studio like this to keep me company.
Thomas’ Dog
8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. I might even consider Thomas Sonja’s first love, in addition to being her playmate. Even though he is almost two and a half and Sonja is 20 months, they run toward each other as if through a sunlit field of wildflowers whenever they meet on the sidewalk. He is actually not so attached to his stuffed animals, and his grandmother suggested that it would be more appropriate for me to paint his toy golf clubs. I almost painted a couple of the clubs next to this dog, but… eh.
Choo Choo
11″x14″ acrylic, 2009. Our nephew Sean is choo-choo CRAZY. (Or should I say “loco?”) So when his little brother, who was born this week, made his presence known, I painted this wooden train as a gift for the boys. I was quite relieved that Sean liked it despite the lack of a certain familiar face at the front of the engine!
Nora’s Bunny
8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. Three-year-old Nora and her brother Thomas, two, are my daughter Sonja’s first real playmates. They are the grandchildren of our friends across the street and we all end up hanging out on their porch almost daily. While I was working on this painting there were a few occasions in which the party moved into our living room. Nora’s grandma would point to the easel and say, “Nora, look what Sonja’s Mommy is painting! Who is that?” And Nora would shout, “BUNNYYYYY!” So I’m going to assume that in fact that is its name: Bunny. Oh, and my name is now Sonja’s Mommy. As in, “Um, Sonja’s Mommy, can Sonja come play in Papa’s pickup truck with us?” (No.)
Ned
8″x10″ acrylic on canvas, 2009. So this blanket-with-a-head trend is no joke! I would say that a majority of my recent work has been centered around intensely beloved blanket animals. So far the variations on this theme that I’ve encountered have included: Head at one corner, no arms; head in the center, no arms, and head at the center, arms. In this painting we have Ned, a blue blanket with a very cute white bear head (no arms) in its center and a matching blue sleeping cap. He belongs to six year old Henry, whose affection has worn Ned into a state of obvious contentment.
Baybob
8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. Here is Baybob, a floppy grey dog belonging to eight-year-old Audrey. He was apparently made without a specific mouth, but has developed what Audrey calls his “smile” over the years — a line beneath his nose that was worn into his fur by love, no doubt. I think a nice metaphor is in there somewhere…