8″x10″ acrylic, 2013. It’s a beautiful and rare thing when a child appreciates a gift in equal proportion to its significance! In this case, “appreciates” would be an understatement. Kaci’s mother Karen received this bunny blanket at her baby shower in 2003 from a dear, lifelong family friend. The bunny was placed in the crib and baby Kaci immediately became attached to it. Karen tells me that bunny is present in nearly every photograph of Kaci ever taken! The bunny is now so worn that any snuggling at all would cause it’s head to detach, so a backup “Bunny 2” was purchased to sleep with Kaci while Bunny sits close by on the nightstand. This portrait will be given to Kaci on her upcoming 10th birthday.
Tag: multiples
Boop
8″x10″ acrylic, 2013.
Believe it or not, the nose on this classic stuffed Snoopy was intact when he was discovered in a collection of donated toys at a public library ONE YEAR AGO. It was loved off by Isaiah, three-year-old son of the formidable and hilarious Twitter and Instagram presence Michael, aka @DadBeard. The Snoopy, known as “Boop,” was in fact a replacement for the one Michael was given as a baby. Michael has four children, and he had passed down the original Boop to Isaiah, the elder of his two boys. Isaiah adored it and would tweak its nose to relax. When Boop was lost at a park, the family somehow stumbled upon an exact replacement at their library in Houston. When the new, equally beloved Boop’s nose was ultimately tweaked off, Isaiah moved on to scratching at the fur, resulting in the threadbare patch you see here. I hope this particular Snoopy will hold together for the next generation! If you participate in Twitter or Instagram, I highly recommend following @dadbeard and his family’s funny, quirky, and touching journey. Here’s Michael’s photo of Isaiah, Boop, and the portrait…
Vivi’s Bunny
8″x10″ acrylic on canvas, 2013. The devotion inspired by Jellycat bunnies is quite something! Children absolutely adore them. I’ve painted many a beloved Jellycat, and where there is one, there are often several. Kids wear them right out, so extras for rotation and replacement are essential! This particular bunny (and it’s three back-ups) is a special edition released by Anthropologie, with incredibly soft, heathery fur. Vivi’s mom, Casey, happened upon a pile of them while wandering around an Anthropologie while eleven months pregnant. She figured that since it was the year of the rabbit, a stuffed bunny would be a perfect gift for the new baby. Sure enough, Vivi takes Bunny everywhere and sleeps with him in a choke hold every single night. The four doppelgangers are rotated for even wear and to keep them “equally stinky and crusty,” as Casey wrote in her Babble blog. A few years ago I painted Casey’s own childhood favorite stuffed bear. If you’re not already familiar with Casey’s Moosh in Indy blog, check it out for extraordinary photographs and wonderful stories of her parenting journey.
Genie (Day and Night Dolly Version 2)
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. This one might look familiar! I originally painted this reversible blanket-head toy in 2010 — it was known as “Day and Night Dolly” to little Dylan, as it is sprinkled with crecent moons on its blue side and a bright sun motif on its yellow side. A new portrait of the toy was commissioned by Robert for his twin granddaughters. They each sleep with this same doll, which they call “Genie.” He wasn’t able to sneak photos of the girls’ actual toys, so he asked me to make a new painting from my original source photos for the Day and Night Dolly portrait. It was fun to revisit this sweet-faced, whimsical doll, and an interesting excercise as an artist! The portrait will be a Christmas gift for Robert’s granddaughters.