8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Our nephews are absolutely mad for things that go! I painted a wooden train for choo-choo crazy Sean when he was two. Today is Sean’s little brother Kevin’s second birthday, and since he loves any and all vehicles, I thought I’d paint my favorite vintage Fisher-Price toy bus for him. At his party tonight many toes were run over by new trucks, buses, and remote-control cars!
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. I was beyond excited when Bethenny Frankel’s very nice assistant contacted me! Bethenny, the hilarious entrepreneur and former Real Housewife of New York City, asked me to paint her daughter Bryn’s pink stuffed elephant. As far as I can tell from the Bravo show “Bethenny Ever After,” adorable one-year-old Bryn has an enviably placid and easygoing demeanor. And it’s a good thing, because she has one busy mama! I hope that this portrait of a beloved toy in a sunlit chair adds to the atmosphere of calm in Bryn’s nursery.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Allisyn’s son Oliver has several VIP toys, three of which are honored in this portrait. This is one of two portraits which will be gifts for Oliver’s upcoming first birthday. I was thrilled to paint my first Curious George! All three of the toys in this painting keep Oliver company in his crib each night, and he has extended conversations with George every morning. In addition to the two paintings for her son, Allisyn also ordered a painting earlier this year for of her friend’s baby’s knit, stuffed monster.
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. Oliver has many close friends, but this elephant blanket is his main squeeze. It’s so special that it warrants its own separate portrait, while the rest of Oliver’s adorable cribmates share another canvas entirely. Oliver’s mother Allisyn commissioned both portraits for his upcoming first birthday. Working on this piece reminded me so much of the portrait I made of Heather Armstrong’s daughter’s lovey, which was another sweet elephant blanket-head personalized with the child’s embroidered name.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Roland the Fingermonster is the CEO of the fantastic website I Only Like Monsters, which, each day, features a new toy monster. While J writes the very funny posts, Roland has creative and curatorial control over the content. J bought Roland as part of a package of fingerpuppets on a whim while in grad school. A hard drinker and a bad influence, Roland eventually convinced J to abandon her dissertation and provide him with an Ebay allowance. He purchased more and more friends, until J eventually began her website as a means to manage her houseful of creatures. When she happened upon my site, J figured that it would be appropriate for a CEO to have his official portrait painted! Check out Roland’s story here!
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11″x14″ acrylic, 2011. In July, the website Sixty Second Parent was kind enough to host a custom toy portrait giveaway. The recipient of the portrait was Stephanie, whose three-year-old absolutely adores this stuffed sea turtle. While vacationing in Hawaii last winter, the family bought a book called “Limu the Sea Turtle” at a Costco. Shortly after, the people who delivered rental baby furniture to their vacation home gave this hand-made turtle to Stephanie’s daughter as a wecome gift. She immediately named it Limu (Hawiian for seaweed or algae!) after her new favorite book. They have been inseparable ever since — she even took Limu and the book to preschool to show her classmates! Limu is special to Stephanie because he will always remind her of that beautiful vacation and happy time in the family’s life.
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9″x12″ acrylic, 2011. This is the first of two paintings in a multi-generational portrait project involving four toys, each belonging to a different close member of Lynne’s family. Here we see Piglet, who belongs to Lynne’s fifteen-year-old granddaughter Alexandra, and Sheepie, who is the favorite of seven-year-old granddaughter Reilly. Piglet once shared Alexandra’s crib and affections with a stuffed Barney, but proved to have more staying power. As a small child Alexandra fell asleep each night stroking Piglet’s silky tag, which is now threadbare. Lynne suspects that Piglet will be attending college with Alexandra in a few years. In Reilley’s crib, Sheepie’s floppy, bean-baggy appeal also outlasted other stuffed toys. Sheepie’s real name is “Mary,” but Lynne is pretty sure she wouldn’t answer to that.
The second painting in this duo will feature the beloved toys of the girls’ parents, Lynne’s daughter Julie and Julie’s husband David. I absolutly adore the idea of portraits of couple’s toys together – I’ve been lucky enough to do one other , and hope for many more!
Piglet — this belongs to my 15 year old granddaughter Alexandra. We all know and love Piglet, and he’s been with her since her days in the crib. In the very early years he had to share space with Barney, but Piglet had staying power. Alex fell asleep each night stroking Piglet’s silky tag, which is now threadbare of course. When she travels cross country to visit me, Piglet always comes along. I’m sure he’ll be attending college in a few years too.
Sheepie, or “Mary” — Sheepie’s official name is Mary, but no one calls her that. (She probably wouldn’t answer). She is the best friend of my 7 year old granddaughter Reilly, and they were both born in Guam. There were lots of stuffed animals that visited Reilly’s crib and bed as a youngster, but most of them just came and went. Sheepie stayed, and now gets to go on car trips and vacations. She has a floppy beanbag feel, and because of that she is an expert cuddler. She’ll be coming to see me later this month, when Reilly flies out for a visit.
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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!
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2011.
This portrait might look a bit familiar… it is my second painting of Meriwether’s beloved Pound Puppy, which she has had since childhood. When she recieved the original portrait, her mother liked it so much that Meriwether decided to order another one for her, too! This situation was an exciting first for me, although it is not the first time I’ve painted the same subjects multiple times: Here are two versions of a squishy Hello Kitty, and two of Hamtaro and Totoro posing together.
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. Well, I’m pretty sure that this is the fuzziest bunny I have ever painted! I got lost in it’s pink fur for hours and hours, and enjoyed almost every minute of it. The bunny and the nubby blanket beneath it belong to Olivia, who turns one in October. Olivia has kept both objects close to her day and night ever since she was born. She especially loves to rub the bunny’s ear on her face as she falls asleep, to chew on its feet and arm, and to play with the all-important tag. This portrait will be a birthday gift for Olivia from her parents.
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