8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. A couple of years ago, two of my favorite people got married. As a gift I painted a their dog Jack, but it was really a portrait of the huge braided rug that dominates their living room. Matthew is a Swiss Army knife of musical talent and Erin is a gifted and prolific knitter of beautiful things. They both adore animals and have quite the menagerie of pets! Last month Erin and Matthew commissioned this painting of Erin’s family’s Muppet-y labradoodle Lonnie as a Christmas gift for Erin’s mother.
Tag: pet
Pet Portrait: Teddy
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012
According to the Chinese calendar, this 2012 has been the year of the phoenix — but over her at Your Toy Portrait, it is most definitely the year of the pet dog! I have painted nearly as many dogs as toys this holiday season. This cute schnauzer, Teddy, belongs to Heathir’s mother-in-law and will be a gift to her this Christmas. Heathir previously commissioned a portrait of her beloved childhood Cabbage Patch Doll, which I now realize I never posted on this website. So watch for the story of that classic toy over the next few days!
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!
Pet Portrait: Rockie
8″x10 acrylic, 2012. This portrait honors Rockie, a beloved pet dog who recently lost his battle with cancer. Rockie was 13 years old and belonged to Allison and her three children, 15, 13, and 11. Although his nickname was “Rockstar,” Rockie was a very sweet-tempered black lab. Sami commissioned this portrait as a Christmas gift for Allison and her family.
Santa Toto
My job would not be half as fun as it is without Mary, who has come back to me repeatedly with projects that are as hilarious as they are heartfelt! For her grown children, Mary has commissioned portraits of a CatDog, a RugRat, and a stuffed Toy Story Alien. When she contacted me about immortalizing the family’s beloved dog dressed in a Santa suit, I shouldn’t have been suprised, but I burst out laughing anyway! She bought the Santa suit a decade ago, and every Christmas morning her family waits to open gifts until “Santa” has arrived! This portrait has special importance, Mary tells me, because Toto is now almost twenty years old. The painting will be brought out yearly as a Christmas decoration. Marys is clearly very attuned to the things that mean most to those she loves.
Hiyu (Pet Portrait)
9″x12″ acylic, 2012. What a lovely change of scenery! It’s novel and thrilling for me to have the opportunity to paint a beloved pet, and wonderful to see such intelligence and personality gazing back at me. This portrait of Hiyu, who passed two years ago, was commissioned by Heidi as a gift for Hiyu’s owners, Heidi’s dear friends. Heidi tells me that Hiyu was an incredibly sweet, 60 pound lap dog who acted like a puppy to the very end! I had the pleasure of commemorating Heidi’s own pet dog Murphy last year, and her daughter’s adorable stuffed hippo in 2009.
Pet Portrait: Zoe
5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. I’ve painted both of Colleen’s childrens’ loveys, and I’m so happy that she also asked me to paint her dear, departed pet, Zoe. It’s a wonderful change for me to get to paint actual animals from time to time! Zoe was a beloved lap-cat who would even tolerate taking walks on a leash (although it often seemed as if Zoe were walking Colleen.) It’s just how cats can get comfortable just about anywhere — I mean, she’s using the top edge of a wooden chair for a pillow!
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