8″x10″ acrylic on canvas, 2013. Having painted a couple of hundred stuffed bears over the past few years, I’m somewhat immune to their charms. However, as soon as I laid eyes on Mike, the whole raison d’etre for Your Toy Portrait came rushing back to me! Mike’s owner, Michael, a blogger and amusing Twitter presence known as “The Muskrat,” was given this Gund bear about 30 years ago. His father, an Air Force pilot who travelled a lot, brought home a bear for each of his sons on his return from a trip. Michael and his brother Kevin named the bears Mike and Bobby, respectively. In order to tell them apart, both bears were dressed in Underoos — Mike’s are Superman, and Bobby wears Batman. I can’t get over the way thirty years of wear and tear and love molded this bear of once-average cuteness into this freakishly adorable thing!
Tag: grown folks
Hobbes
8″x10″ acrylic, 2013. I last saw Rayne, the recipient of this portrait, with my own eyes in 1996 when he was a sweet, chubby, tow-headed baby. He’s the son of my college friend Amy, and he’s now ten feet tall and about to enter Cornell University! …. Okay I fainted for a minute, but I’m back. A long-time fan of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, Rayne collects the books and has always identified with the equally blonde Calvin. So it’s only natural that his favorite toy would be a stuffed tiger! Amy’s family has a lovely tradition of giving each other gifts at random occasions throughout the year rather than all at once at Christmas, so this will be given to Rayne perhaps as a symbol of transition from childhood into the world of college and beyond. Congratulations Rayne!
Spotted Dog
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Matt’s wife loves art, personalization, and this stuffed dog, so could there be a more appropriate gift for her than a custom portrait of her favorite toy? She has had this dog, known simply as “Dog,” ever since she was a toddler, and it has lived with her in Texas, Chicago, and Washington D.C. While planning the painting, Matt and I pondered a question I encounter quite often in my line of work: Just what color is this toy? Matt figures that it is more light grey than beige, although it might have been beige at one time, and he pointed out Dog’s faded black spots and chocolate brown ears. I always love to paint an incidental pillow, and that bolster behind Dog has a great texture. Matt will give this portrait to his wife as a Christmas gift.
Pet Portrait: Baxter
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012.
Sarah, who found me on etsy, commissioned this painting of Baxter as a Christmas gift for her husband. Their sweet, snaggle-toothed Lhasa Apso is 6 years old and is a champion of both tennis and frisbee. Don’t be fooled by his placid, almost stoic expression… Baxter is quite the comedian! This has certainly been the year of the real live pet over here at Your Toy Portrait. I’ve painted just about as many pets as toys so this holiday portrait painting season so far — Such a pleasure for me!
Mr. Bear
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. This portrait is traveling all the way to Spain for the 18th birthday of Cristina’s brother Pablo! “Mr. Bear” has been at Pablo’s side since birth, and can still be found perched on his bed whenever Cristina travels from New Jersey to visit her family! Cristina was 13 when Pablo was born, and their grandmother helped her buy a toy to give him at the hospital. She laid this bear in his crib and from then on he slept with it every night. The family moved to the U.S. a few years later, and when Cristina entered college they moved back to Spain. On one of her visits, Cristina noticed the bear on Pablo’s bed and said “I can’t believe you still have that old bear!” To which Pablo replied, “That’s MR. BEAR, Cris.” Cristina tells me that she knew she had to find a “special and strange” way to immortalize Mr. Bear for this momentous birthday. “Special and strange” — that’s a perfect way to describe a custom toy portrait!
Hot Wheels GTO Wagon
5″x7″ acrylic, 2012. What would you call the color of this Hot Wheels Classic Series 1966 GTO Wagon? “Spectraflame Blue,” of course! Jessica commissioned this painting as a gift for her husband, who collects Hot Wheels — this is one of his very favorites. Jessica, who found me through etsy, previously had me paint the Bert and Ernie Fisher Price Little People for her son. Their family has admirable taste in classic toys! Jessica herself produces sweet handmade stuffed dolls and toys for her own etsy shop… future classics, perhaps?
Pull-Toy Group
11″x14″ acrylic, 2012. What fun I’ve had painting all these clever wooden hand-made toys! You may have seen my individual portraits of this bear, duck, and grasshopper earlier this summer, and this group portrait brings in a fourth toy. The rabbit is overturned to reveal the signature of Pops, Barbara’s talented and generous late father. “Pops” made beautiful toys for several generations of his family, and Barbara commissioned this quartet of portraits to honor him and his lovely work.
Ella and Bunny
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. I’m absolutely honored to have now made paintings as for all three of Susan’s children as gifts celebrating the births of their babies! For Susan’s first son, there was this vintage Snoopy blanket-head, followed by these two toys belonging to Susan’s daughter and her husband. And here we have another symbolic marriage portrait of another son and his wife’s beloved toys as they await the July birth of their child. “Ella” the elephant and Susan’s son were truly bonded when the toy brought him comfort through surgery on his bladder at the age of five. Although Ella remained by his side throughout childhood, Susan notes that he did leave her behind when he entered the Marine Corps! This wonderful stuffed bunny was Susan’s daughter-in-law’s very favorite bedtime toy as a child. Susan’s house is sure to be filled with excitement, drama, and laughter for the forseeable future — congratulations to her growing family!
Grasshopper Pull-toy
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Barbara’s late father, Joe, who made this fabulous pull-along grasshopper, merged his love of children and of beautiful, well-made objects in his craft. For part of his life he restored antique furniture for a living, and ultimately began to build his own wooden toys. Joe’s wife made denim quilts, and together they traveled the craft show circuit in New Mexico and Texas. The first of Joe’s many hand-made gifts to his grandchildren was a rattle carved from a single piece of wood! Barbara’s family cherishes the many toys that Joe lovingly made for them throughout the years, and they keep a stash aside for his great-grandchildren.
Old and New Bunnies
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012.
Two generations, two beloved bunny blanket-heads! When Chelsea was little, there were several toys which earned the moniker “Lovie,” but this flat, funny-faced bunny was the last and best. She has had him since the age of three and he now resides safely in a cabinet next to the shoes Chelsea wore at her wedding. Her husband sometimes teases her about it, but she is quick to point out the Lovie has been around a lot longer than he has! When their son Bix was born, a family friend gave him a bunny blanket of his own in honor of Chelsea’s own cherished toy. Bix adores his bunny too, and so Chelsea thought it only natural that the two toys be immortalized side-by-side in a portrait! The blanket-head phenomenon seems to be fairly recent (and ubiquitous!), so I’m always excited to see a “vintage” blanket animal. (Here’s another one!) Chelsea won this custom painting in a giveaway kindly hosted by Mamatoga this spring.