8″x10″ acrylic, 2013. A couple of years ago, I painted a white stuffed tiger for Jen’s then-two-year-old daughter Samantha. Now that Samantha’s baby brother Jack is old enough to have made his allegiance clear to a particular beloved toy, Jen commissioned a portrait of Jack’s monkey blanket-head “Woobie!” Jen asked me to be sure to include the worn white tag attached to the blanket, which, as you might be aware, is the most important part of the toy. When he is falling asleep, Jack rubs the tag against his face (or has one of his parents perform this soothing ritual.) As I’ve mentioned in many other posts, the phenomenon of baby tag obsession is quite familiar to everyone in our household!
Tag: embroidered
Oliver’s Elephant
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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