8″x10″ acrylic, 2012.

Two generations, two beloved bunny blanket-heads! When Chelsea was little, there were several toys which earned the moniker “Lovie,” but this flat, funny-faced bunny was the last and best. She has had him since the age of three and he now resides safely in a cabinet next to the shoes Chelsea wore at her wedding. Her husband sometimes teases her about it, but she is quick to point out the Lovie has been around a lot longer than he has! When their son Bix was born, a family friend gave him a bunny blanket of his own in honor of Chelsea’s own cherished toy. Bix adores his bunny too, and so Chelsea thought it only natural that the two toys be immortalized side-by-side in a portrait! The blanket-head phenomenon seems to be fairly recent (and ubiquitous!), so I’m always excited to see a “vintage” blanket animal. (Here’s another one!) Chelsea won this custom painting in a giveaway kindly hosted by Mamatoga this spring.