8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Here’s “Pup,” who belongs to four-year-old Jack. Jack’s mother, Carrie, ordered portraits of each of her son’s favorite toys — you can see Ellie the elephant, who belongs to two-year-old Mason, by clicking here. Like Ellie, Pup poses atop a kitchen island, and his serious posture belies his sweet, cartoony face.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. I must say that I’m stunned by this rather “antique” specimen of a blanket-head! I had thought the the blanket-with-a-head phenomenon was fairly recent, but this Snoopy was the childhood companion of a man who is now 30 years old! It’s just barely three-dimensional, its head and hands lying rather flatly against the blanket, so it’s not quite the literal hybrid of fully-formed stuffed animal and blanket that you find today. Susan commissioned this portrait for her son in honor of the upcoming birth of his first child!
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Six-month-old Thomas sleeps through the night only when tucked in with his bear blanket, and during the day this blue Gund dog rattle is his favorite. Thomas’ father Bob vividly describes the circumstances: “Lord knows my wife and mother-in-law have buried this child under toys, yet he always seems to dig through them to find this dog rattle to shove in his mouth!” Bob thoughtfully envisioned this painting as a Mother’s Day gift for his very loved and lucky wife!
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Here is the second of two portraits given as Mother’s Day gifts by Dale to his wife Julie. These blue Carter’s stuffed dogs, known simply as Puppy and Other Puppy, belong to their 3-and-a-half-year-old son Henry. One puppy has been Henry’s “best friend” since birth, but when he found out that his parents had purchased a back-up puppy, he insisted on carrying and sleeping with them both. So ensconced in the family are these dogs that the night Julie gave birth to their younger son Evan, she kept one of the puppies with her throughout her C-section so that she would have a bit of Henry present with her. Dale wrote me about his wife in such adoring terms and it’s clear that so much thought and love went into this gift… this couple is very fortunate to have each other!
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. It’s fascinating to hear about the differing reactions of children to the existence of multiples of their favorite toys — sometimes the “back-up” is simply brought into the fold so that there are two constant companions. I haven’t yet heard about parents successfully rotating identical toys without the child catching on! In this case, “spare” Doggy blankets were simple not accepted by baby Kathryn at all — she immediately knew the difference, of course. Last year, Virginia ordered a portrait of her daughter Jane’s ducky blanket, and now Jane’s older sister Kathryn, now five, will have one of her one and only Doggy.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. As a college graduation gift, Cici commissioned this very creative, slightly surreal portrait which LITERALLY melds a few of her daughter Ellie’s favorite things! You might notice that the doll leans against the pillow and also reaches INTO the pillow’s image to wrap her arm around the terrier’s neck! Ellie has had “Tickle Dolly” (named for the tickly lace on her bonnet and dress) since she was a baby, and it still travels with her. Cici also sent photos of their beloved Jack Russell terrier, Maddie, and decided that this terrier pillow should stand in for her in the painting. Cici was brimming with helpful input and ideas — she referred to a specific green chair from another portrait when envisioning the background, and even sent a Photoshopped mock-up of the magically entwined doll and pillow!
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Wow, this dog is FUZZY! I had to do a bit of grooming to sufficiently reveal the eyes and facial features before I could paint him. As part of a great combo baby shower gift, my sister-in law Kris purchased this super-fluffy dog and commissioned a portrait to give along with the toy.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Odie’s family has some amusing naming practices when it comes to toys. Nina’s mother named each toy she recieved at her baby shower after the person who gave the gift, leaving the baby to rename them as she pleased later. Baby Nina, now just about to turn ten, renamed this stuffed dog “Odie,” after the family’s own pet! Nina’s grandmother Pat will give this painting to Nina for her upcoming birthday.
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8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Hmm, I’m hearing a lot of stories about toys initially being given to one ambivalent sibling and then ending up in the adoring hands it of another. Lucky Slush is such a toy! The cleverly named Slush, a stuffed husky dog, was given to Lisa’s daughter by her cousins. She liked Slush a little, but wisely transferred ownership to her then two-year-old brother Matthew. He immediately loved slush and has nearly worn his head off with affection (and with swinging him around like a lasso by his leash!)
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9″x12″ acrylic, 2010. As Tanzi was covertly planning to take photos of her daughter’s beloved “Puppy” for me to use for this portrait, Something pretty great occured to her. The toy was constantly in transition between her daughter’s parents’ separate houses, which not only complicated the photo shoot but often caused Puppy to be left at one place or the other. Tanzi suggested to me that a portrait of a toy might be a comfort to children of single parents in these situations, evoking its presence even when a child is without her favorite for the night. Great idea!
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