8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. As I’ve said before, you can choose a hand-stitched Waldorf doll or tone-on-tone felted owl from Etsy for your child, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Resign yourself to pink plastic or, perhaps, a color-blocked polyester velour dog. Phoebe was given to Arianna when she was very small by the family’s nanny, Lili. Both Arianna and her little sister Caroline adore Phoebe and love to dress her in brightly patterned outfits which further enhance her primary colors. She has lost limbs and her nose repeatedly over time, but Lili always lovingly sews Phoebe up as good as new. The books in this portrait belonged to the girls’ father when he was a child and in turn became favorites of Arianna and Caroline. This set of four by Maurice Sendak is called “The Nutshell Library,” and includes “Chicken Soup With Rice,” “Pierre,” “Alligators All Around,” and “One Was Jonny.” I have written about “Chicken Soup With Rice” in a past post, as it is the one book that I read every single night to my own daughter and was a huge part of my own childhood! This painting is one of two portraits commissioned by Heidi of her daughter’s favorite things. You can see my portrait of Caroline’s Lammy here.
Tag: dog
Orange Pup
9″x12″ acrylic, 2011. According to the Chinese Zodiac, we’re just winding down the year of the rabbit. But around here? Definitely the year of the floppy-eared dog! There were certainly a lot of stuffed bunny portraits in 2011, but as the holiday orders ramped up, somebody let the dogs out. This long-eared specimen, known simply as “Pup,” belonged to Jean’s husband when he was a child, and is now the favorite toy of his son. His warm-orange fur might be specific to the dog’s era of origin, and was such a pleasure to paint! This portrait will be a birthday gift from Jean to her step-son.
Floppy Blue Dog
5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. Hey, remember that blue dog snuggled up to a little lamb blanket a few days ago? Doesn’t this dog look JUST LIKE IT? Has anyone ever seen them in the same room together? As a matter of fact, I know of at least three people who have. They would be five-year-old Sophia, eight-year-old Alex, and their grandmother Michelle. Each child has a floppy blue pup, and Sophia also has a gorgeous stuffed lamb/blanket. Michelle will give these little portraits to Sophia and Alex for Christmas.
Blue Dog and Lamb
5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. As I head into the final stretch of my busy holiday season, I am listening to lots of stand-up comedy on Youtube to stay sane while painting. And so this little portrait of a stuffed dog and lamb will forever conjure Margaret Cho for me, as she happened to be keeping me company while I made it! This is one of two portraits commissioned by Michelle for her grandchildren. Interestingly, the two kids each have the same sort of floppy blue dog, but Sophia, who is five, also has this fabulous lamb blanket-head. I adore the mixed patterns of the flowered blanket and checked scarf on the lamb!
Brown and White Dog
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Floppy-eared Stuffed Dog week continues — it’s like shark week, but with stuffed dogs and floppy ears! This brown and white pup is the favorite of one of Michael’s two boys. A portrait of his other son’s two blue dogs can be seen here. These paintings will be given to the boys for Christmas by their father.
Two Blue Puppies
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Ah, it’s floppy dog season! I’m suddenly swimming in big-eared, sweet-faced stuffed puppies. There are three between Michael’s two sons alone! This sunlit portrait of two blue pups is the first of two paintings he commissioned as Christmas gifts for the boys. Check in tomorrow for the second portrait, which features a brown and white dog of somewhat more upright posture!
Puppy the Puppy
5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. There are fifteen years between Lisa and her younger sister, but as children each had beloved stuffed puppies, both named “Puppy!” Lisa’s sister, now twenty, still brings this floppy-eared, brown-and-white pup along on all her travels. As a Christmas gift, Lisa envisioned a portrait of the toy with her sister’s favorite Tiffany blue as the background .
Doggy and Dog-Dog
5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. After seeing her neices’ favorite toys immortalized alongside their doppelgangers, Barbara commissioned portraits of her own children’s twin stuffed animals. Brooke has her floppy froggies, and here are Bryce’s Doggy and Dog-Dog. “Back-ups” and extra versions of beloved toys are definitely a theme on this website recently!
Puppy Family
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. When Melinda’s 8-year-old son was born, he recieved “Puppy,” pictured here second from the left. “Puppy Mommy,” the large one on the far right, arrived for his first Christmas. Puppy Daddy sits next to (and is somewhat alarmingly dwarfed by) Puppy Mommy, and Puppy’s baby brother is at the far left end. The puppy family portrait is one of two paintings commissioned by Melinda for her children — check out her six-year-old’s two knit bunnies here!
CatDog
9″x12″ acrylic, 2011. It’s so much fun to paint toys for grown folks like Mary’s two sons, who are 21 and 23. The boys came of age in the high Nickelodeon era, and so, naturally, their favorite toys were both cute and slightly disturbing. Mary ordered portraits of each as Christmas presents for them, and was kind enough to mail me the actual toys rather than photos. The first of the two paintings depicts a stuffed CatDog, who comes equipped with a ratchet-y, bendable back which renders him slightly poseable. His cheery expression(s) made him very pleasant to spend time with and I’ll miss having him around!
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