8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. This portrait is traveling all the way to Spain for the 18th birthday of Cristina’s brother Pablo! “Mr. Bear” has been at Pablo’s side since birth, and can still be found perched on his bed whenever Cristina travels from New Jersey to visit her family! Cristina was 13 when Pablo was born, and their grandmother helped her buy a toy to give him at the hospital. She laid this bear in his crib and from then on he slept with it every night. The family moved to the U.S. a few years later, and when Cristina entered college they moved back to Spain. On one of her visits, Cristina noticed the bear on Pablo’s bed and said “I can’t believe you still have that old bear!” To which Pablo replied, “That’s MR. BEAR, Cris.” Cristina tells me that she knew she had to find a “special and strange” way to immortalize Mr. Bear for this momentous birthday. “Special and strange” — that’s a perfect way to describe a custom toy portrait!