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.
Category: Toy Portraits
Custom portraiture and paintings of Sonja’s toys
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.
Bear Pull-Toy
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Here’s a third portrait of a beautiful pull-toy handmade by Barb’s late father. Barbs’ children (now grown) called her father “Pops,” and he always made sure to spend lots of quality time with them. The kids have fond memories of helping him build and paint projects in his shop such as wooden swords and birdfeeders, and they played cards using a wooden cardholder made by Pops to assist little hands in managing the cards. Barb’s father carefully researched his finishes and materials to be sure the toys were non-toxic. It’s a thrill to paint these amazing family treasures! You can see my other portraits of Pop’s pull-toys here and here.
Slothy
5″x7″ acrylic, 2012. This stuffed sloth was given to baby Phillipa (now two-and-a-half) by her father on his return to a trip from Costa Rica. He found it while visiting a rehabilitation center for real sloths, and figured she would either adore it or be terrified by it. It was love at first sight! Her mother Erynn tells me that before Phillipa could even speak, she would hold up three fingers, scrape them in the air, and growl as a sign she wanted her “Slothy.” Erynn has commissioned portraits of each of her three daughters’ favorite toys.
Donatello, Ninja Turtle
9″x10″ acrylic on cardboard, 2012. Another classic toy for an upcoming exhibit… this 1990 Donatello Ninja Turtle features a hinged storage shell for his tiny ninja throwing stars, fish knife, “killer pizza,” and shark-fin hatchet. He also comes equipped with two bos. My husband had several Ninja Turtle toys as a child, but explained to me that some of the turt;es in his collection were been produced with the wrong coloring. He assures me that this guy has all the correct details. Greg has proven to have a bottomless supply of material for me in the way of plastic toys!