9″x12″ acrylic, 2012. This bunny and bear belong to three-year-old Lily and Zoe respectively, and the toys were carefully posed by their mother Andrea to reflect the girls’ loving relationship. Lily and Zoe are identical twins, but have very distinct personalities… to their parents they look as different from each other as these two toys. Zoe is just slightly smaller, and Lily as very protective of her sister. This portrait is also another testament to the uncanny appeal of Jellycat toys, as I have painted this same style of white bunny many times! Andrea tells me that she let her girls choose this bear and bunny from the Jellycat website when they were very small, and they wandered around kissing crumpled paper print-outs of the toys while waiting for them to arrive!
Tag: bear
Ezra’s Black Bear
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. As I was painting this floppy guy, it occured to me that it’s sort of odd that the North American black bear is fairly under-represented in the world of stuffed toys. This one seems to be referencing his species’ plight, reclining in a rather fur-rug-before-the-fire pose. When Vicky suggested the idea of having his toy immortalized in a painting to her eight-year-old grandson Ezra, he was very excited about it! Ezra has loved this bear ever since he was a toddler and still sleeps with him every night. The portrait will be a gift from Vicky to Ezra on his upcoming birthday.
Professor Teddy and Lamby
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. When Aliza was little, her habit of carrying her bear with her arm around his neck caused all the neck stuffing to bunch up into his head. Aliza reasoned that smart people probobly had bigger heads, so she named her bear “Professor Teddy.” She picked him out herself as a very small child and he remained close to Aliza’s side through many childhood adventures and even through college. Professor Teddy now keeps Aliza’s bed warm in her old room at her mother’s house. This stuffed lamb, which belongs to Aliza’s younger sister, Zoe, once played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” when wound up, but now only pings out a random note here and there! Lamby was given to Zoe when she was a baby by a long-time family friend and has been her favorite ever since. Aliza commissioned this portrait of their two toys together as a gift for Zoe’s upcoming birthday.
Brooks Brothers Bear
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Natasha’s two-and-a-half year old son Nate has a penchant for argyle sweater vests, so it’s only natural that he adores this dapper Brooks Brothers bear. The two have been inseparable ever since Nate’s aunt gave him the bear, which Nate named “Todd,” in 2010. The Brooks Brothers company tells me that they call this spiffy bear “Brooksy,” and he’s offered as a seasonal item. A significant portion of the profits go to their partners at the Make-a-Wish foundation. Natasha won this custom portrait as part of a massive giveaway hosted by blogger Jessica Gottlieb in celebration of reaching 20,000 followers on Twitter back in September!
Shaggy and Woofy
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. This is a clever sort of portrait of a married couple, represented here by their favorite childhood toys! Susan commissioned this painting as a baby shower gift for her daughter, Kim, and Kim’s husband C.J., who are expecting in May. Shaggy is Kim’s beloved bear, and Woofy, who is a Gund Snuffles bear endearingly interpreted to be a dog, belongs to C.J. You can see other examples of group family toy portraits here, here, and here. Susan also had me paint a vintage Snoopy blanket-head last year for her son, who is now also expecting a baby!
Freddie
This OBVIOUSLY well-loved orange bear belongs to 33-year-old Lisa. Her father Frank tells me that “Freddie” has been Lisa’s constant companion all her life, but was misplaced and found several times. During one of his disappearances, two unsuccessful substitutes were brought in. They came to be known as “Freddie II” and “Guys,” the latter so named because he was purchased at the now-defunct Two Guys department store! “The substitutes held minor positions in Lisa’s stuffed animal cabinet,” Frank wrote, “but Freddie was always Prime Minister.” Fisher Price sold this “Freddy Teddy” toy from 1975-1981. Lisa altered the spelling of his name to the much more distinguished “Freddie” herself.
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Pookie
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Last night I amused myself by going through my archives and adding the tag “grown folks” to all portrait posts about toys belonging to grown-ups. Boy, I nearly ended up with carpel-tunnel! About a quarter of the portraits I’ve painted were commissioned as gifts for adults by people who dearly love the child within them. These toys are absolutely, irrefutably “portrait worthy!” This bear, Pookie, has belonged to Wanda’s niece Sara since she was a baby, and she is now 26. Pookie was named after the comic-strip character Garfield’s own bear. Wanda tells me that he was once much whiter and plumper, and his nose has been squashed and nearly worn away. Sara happened to bring Pookie along on a recent visit so that Wanda could covertly photograph him for me, and the portrait will be a Christmas gift for Sara from Wanda.
Dolly and Bear
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. One of my very favorite toy stories is the one where the parent falls in love with a toy and is subsequently victorious in convincing her child to love it too! The bear in this portrait was purchased by Jennifer when she first became pregnant with her twin daughters Zora and Jane. “Having twin girls has been the greatest blessing in my life,” Jennifer wrote to me, “far more joyous (and exhausting!) than I could ever have imagined, and that Zora loves this bear represents this to me.” Jane’s favorite is Dolly, and is dragged to school each day, smothered in blankets and kisses while playing “mama,” and taken to bed every night. If Dolly is lost in the covers, Jane calls out “Dolllllllllyyyy” and Jennifer must come and find her. Jennifer notes, “They have many toys but these are the most cherished by far.”
Red Teddy and Scuppers
9″x12″ acryic, 2011. Here’s the second of two paintings in a multi-generational portrait project commissioned by Lynne for her family. While the first depicts the beloved toys of Lynne’s grandchildren, this painting commemorates their parents’ childhood favorites. Lynne’s daughter Julie was given Red Teddy when she was two years old. He was purchased by second-hand by Julie’s grandmother as a toy for her dogs, but Julie quickly claimed him for herself. Red Teddy was by Julie’s side through school, college, and into her grown-up life as a nurse and mother. Julie’s husband David loved the book “Scuppers the Sailor Dog” when he was small, and when his parents bought him this stuffed dog, it was named after the book. David continued to love boats and sailing all his life, eventually joining the Navy! Even though he ultimately became a physician, Lynne tells me that David would probobly rather be sailing than anything else. These two toys have witnessed so much of the lives of this husband and wife, making this a sort of sweet, symbolic portrait of the couple. Thanks to Lynne for a wonderful idea!
Order a print of this painting:
More info about prints here.
Puppy and Bear
5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. Ding ding ding! The bells are going off as Patrick racks up Awesome Husband points for finding his wife a unique and special birthday gift. When she happened upon my website a couple of months ago, Patrick’s wife mentioned in passing that she would really like a portrait of their children’s two loveys. I wonder if he let on that he had tuned into that, or, as my husband might do to fake me out, just made an affirmative noise while staring at his phone? Patrick covertly commissioned a little portrait of Puppy and Bear, belonging to Liam (1) and Jack (3), respectively. Jack’s favorite part of Bear is his tail, which is well-worn, and Liam loves the silky undersides of Puppy’s ears. I hope that this portrait preserves a sweet, fleeting period in the boys’ childhood for years to come!
Order a print of this painting:
More info about prints here.