8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Just before the holidays I had the pleasure and honor of being included in a wonderful giveaway bonanza hosted by Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks. In a moment of expansive generosity, Karen concocted the Twelve Days of Chookooloonks, in which each day a reader recieved some manner of artistic prize. My custom portraits were featured on the fourth day of Chookooloonks, and Karen included a photo of her daughter Alex’s beloved Baby Lion. As far as she can recall, Baby Lion was a gift at Alex’s baby shower, and has been Alex’s favorite since before she could walk. His mane has been loved down into a matted helmet at this point… He travels everywhere with the family and sleeps with eight-year-old Alex every night. “When Alex’s alarm goes off,” Karen writes, “if she decides to crawl in bed with us for an early-morning snuggle before hitting the showers, invariably Baby Lion crawls in bed with us too.” I love to paint lions, and it was a joy to spend time contemplating this little guy’s unique expression and attitute!
Tag: lion
Mr. Lion
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. You have a back-up for your little one’s favorite toy? Robin’s son has SEVEN of these lions! She tells me that he is obsessed — they keep one in the car (“Car Lion”) and he sleeps with almost all of them. (I assume Car Lion is the one who doesn’t make it into the bed.) Whenever another Mr. Lion appears on Ebay, Robin snatches him up to bolster the family’s supply. He’s a beautiful lion and is clearly deserving of such affection!
Lion, George, and Elephant
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.
Order a print of this painting:
More info about prints here.
Big Lion
5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. Wow, I jumped right out of my chair when I saw the photos of this lion! He is identical to my own lion Hubert, right down to his missing black spectacles. This toy is the life-long favorite of Corissa’s husband, and she commissioned this portrait as a gift for him. The lion is quite large, about two feet tall and with a formidable head… he has a strong, sage-like presence. Here’s another painting of my Hubert along with Tigger and my much younger self.
Order a print of this painting:
More info about prints here.
Roar, Monkey, and Blankie
5″x7″ acrylic, 2010. I can’t believe that this is the first sock monkey to come my way for a toy portrait! I hope there will be more! Monkey, Roar, and Blankie all belong to Sephanie’s son Graham, and this little painting is a gift for his upcoming birthday. Apparently there is no heirarchy among them, as Graham carries all three around the house all day and into bed each night. The blankie has its own voice, a bubbly, loopy, wordless language, and also a special spot on it which Graham insists is its “mouth.” What an imaginative kid!
Very Fat Lion
5″x5″ acrylic, 2010. I don’t actually buy that many stuffed animals, but every once in awhile a truly special beast will make its presence known to me and I just have to have it. Such was the case last week as my husband, daughter and I wandered around our local Job Lot in search of some random item which was evidently not random enough to be carried by Job Lot. This absurdly proportioned lion made us all burst out laughing. There was no discussion or debate — the fat lion just stepped on into the shopping cart like he had been waiting for a bus.
The Work Lion
8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. Certain people tend to anthropomorphize stuffed animals more than others, and those people are sometimes adults — adults who might happen to be married to me. And other people with the same tendencies might happen to be employed by my husband. And so a bizarro transaction took place involving this lion. Said employee had two identical lions. One was at home, and the other she kept at work because if they were together they “might fight.” Greg was concerned that some harm would come to the “work lion” if left there, and so he convinced the lion’s owner that he would give it a good life in the care of our Sonja. So far the poor lion has been working long hours modeling in my studio, but I think now I will set it free in the wilds of the nursery.
Hubert
8″x10″ acrylic, 2009. Hubert has been with me since I was a baby. He is about 2 feet tall and used to sport a black pince-nez. To say that he’s seen better days is an understatement — he’s kind of too dirty to cuddle, but is still awesome and might just continue to pose in the corner of my studio like this to keep me company.
an early toy portrait
29″x40″, oil on canvas 1996. I did lots of self-portraits in college and grad school because I was always available to model! Here’s one from 1996, and obviously even then I could not resist painting my stuffed animals. This picture features Tigger and a lion called Hubert — he was a give-away at a bank where my mom opened an account when I was a baby. Note the sweet mid-century modern furniture, which unfortunately did not belong to me but was fun to paint.
Gigi
–8″x10″ acrylic on canvas, 2009. Gigi is a Ty Beanie koala bear, but to her person, Ruby, she is a LION, period! Continue reading “Gigi”