8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Don’t be fooled by the color of his clothes — this sweet doll has been known as “Baby Nathan” ever since 6-year-old Anna recieved him as a Christmas gift when she was one. She named him after her big brother Nathan, and to this day finds it perfectly natural that the doll retains his gender and moniker along with the pink pj’s. Anna asked her mother for a portrait of her beloved doll after Nathan recieved a painting of his favorite stuffed bunny last year!
Tag: rubber
Little Fatty Face
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. In the delicious (but always a bit worrisome) lull which follows my anual holiday portrait blitz, I’m just painting what I like between my smattering of commissions. And I do like this duck! He’s one of a zillion that Sonja has managed to collect over the course of her four years, and, to me, he’s the best one. I absolutely adore how his double chin wraps around and connects to his back-of-the-neck fat. Hence his name: Little Fatty Face, which was originally my pet name for baby Sonja until I realized that it might scar her for life! But this duck has a flaw which he shares with about 90% of rubber ducks on the market, it seems: He floats on his side. What’s up, rubber duckie designers? Is form is more important that function? Well, I did choose to paint this one over other more upright, less adorable specimens…
Sophie the Giraffe
8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. A couple of months ago, Colleen from Saratoga Mama brilliantly suggested that I should paint a Sophie the Giraffe so that I could make prints available of the classic, iconic teething toy. This particular Sophie is one of several(!) recieved by my close friends’ sweet new baby, Ian. Here, Sophie stands atop Ian’s blue Boppy, where I also posed Ian’s stuffed owl. These giraffes, currently a go-to status baby gift, have been made in France since the fifties. Here’s a wonderful video showing how these hand-painted, natural rubber are made:
Prints of the Sophie portrait can be ordered here!
Roland, Take 2
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. *Sigh* So, you may have noticed that I have already painted this guy, who is the distinguished CEO of I Only Like Monsters. Over a month ago I mailed the original portrait to J, who writes the hilarious posts for Roland’s website, and just heard yesterday that it had not yet arrived. So after J and I jostled the USPS from both ends, I franticly re-painted the portrait and had my husband frame it, all in one afternoon. This morning I recieved word that the first portrait suddenly showed up on J’s doorstep! I must say that it was actually lots of fun to revisit Roland’s funny face and I enjoyed painting him again.
Order a print of this painting:
More info about prints here.
Roland
8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Roland the Fingermonster is the CEO of the fantastic website I Only Like Monsters, which, each day, features a new toy monster. While J writes the very funny posts, Roland has creative and curatorial control over the content. J bought Roland as part of a package of fingerpuppets on a whim while in grad school. A hard drinker and a bad influence, Roland eventually convinced J to abandon her dissertation and provide him with an Ebay allowance. He purchased more and more friends, until J eventually began her website as a means to manage her houseful of creatures. When she happened upon my site, J figured that it would be appropriate for a CEO to have his official portrait painted! Check out Roland’s story here!
Order a print of this painting:
More info about prints here.