Your Toy Portrait - Custom Toy Portraits by Jennifer Maher » acrylic

Professor Teddy and Lamby

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:28:45 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. When Aliza was little, her habit of carrying her bear with her arm around his neck caused all the neck stuffing to bunch up into his head. Aliza reasoned that smart people probobly had bigger heads, so she named her bear “Professor Teddy.” She picked him out herself as a very small child and he remained close to Aliza’s side through many childhood adventures and even through college. Professor Teddy now keeps Aliza’s bed warm in her old room at her mother’s house. This stuffed lamb, which belongs to Aliza’s younger sister, Zoe, once played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” when wound up, but now only pings out a random note here and there! Lamby was given to Zoe when she was a baby by a long-time family friend and has been her favorite ever since. Aliza commissioned this portrait of their two toys together as a gift for Zoe’s upcoming birthday.

Asa

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:42:09 +0000

6″x8″ acrylic on cardboard, 2012. This painting, the second of two portrait gifts for Kathleen from Paul, features their three-year-old son Asa. I have experienced Asa’s ardor for trucks and trains first-hand, as Asa and Sonja sometimes get to play together. He imbues them with vigorous, joyful personalities, and expresses his deepest good will by offering his favorites to his playmates to borrow. It was such a pleasure to paint his sweet, striking face, which in person is incredibly animated — Paul tells me that it was nearly impossible to get him to be still long enough for a decent photo! Here are my recent portraits of Sonja and Asa side-by-side:

Spike, Kitty, Blue Bunny

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:39:32 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. In this “symbolic” family portrait, the family members are represented by their favorite stuffed toys. This is one of two portraits commissioned by Paul for his wife Kathleen as gifts for Mother’s Day and her upcoming birthday, although Paul ended up growing impatient and gave her both on Mother’s Day! The droopy, laconic Spike has always been Kathleen’s favorite Peanuts character, and she’s had this stuffed toy since she was ten years old. Paul’s blue rabbit was a given to him on his first Easter. This stuffed cat only recently emerged as three-year-old Asa’s favorite, and Paul reckons that it’s because he resembles their own cat “New Kitty” (who retains his title beyond his actual newness!) I have the pleasure of knowing this family personally, and I can tell you that these toys strike me as amusingly accurate and appropriate stand-ins! Check back tomorrow for my portrait of adorable, red-headed, train-obsessed Asa.

Little People Portrait: Dominic’s Family

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:00:24 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Here’s another “symbolic” family portrait as vintage Fisher-Price Little People! This one was commissioned by Dominic as a Mother’s Day present for his wife Cassandra. In order to represent the couple and their little son Isaac with some accuracy, I took artistic liberties with the classic Little People designs. Dominic requested that I invent a beard for him, so I lifted the detailing from a Fisher-Price Sesame Street Gordon doll and then embellished the facial hair. Dominic typically wears a hat, so I took one from what I think is a Little People mailman and put it atop the classic, green-bodied dad figure. The only female African American Little Person was Susan, whose hairstyle was less representative of Cassandra’s than the standard-issue mother doll’s ponytail, so I changed the coloring and made use of that form. Luckily, a small boy figure that well represents Isaac actually existed. Dominic tells me that they might have an updated portrait made in a couple of years, as the family is expecting a baby girl this August!

My Little Pegasus

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:41:50 +0000

5″x7″ acrylic on cardboard, 2012. A collection of portraits of classic toys would not be complete without a My Little Pony! Between commissions, I’m building up a body of toy paintings for an upcoming August exhibit. This tiny Pegasus came from our amazing local thrift store, which had a whole basket of Little Ponies. Judging from my daughter’s delight and immediate confiscation of my “model,” we will be going back for more!

Fisher Price Family

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:01:11 +0000

6″x8″ acryic on cardboard, 2012. Here’s a symbolic portrait of our family, each of us represented by a vintage Fisher-Price Little Person. My husband’s incredibly sentimental response to the piece was, of course, “Where’s my hair?” If you’d like a Little People portrait of your own family, please be in touch!

Sonja With Braids

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:03:58 +0000

5″x7″ acrylic on cardboard, 2012. Took a break from the toys to paint my favorite little face… Sonja is four, and I think I’m going to try to make yearly portraits of her from now on. Is it evident that I love the Andrew Wyeth Helga paintings? Sonja’s braids definitely conjured them for me!

Two Cowboys

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:11:36 +0000

5″x9″ acrylic on board, 2012. I wonder if my two vintage, wooden Fisher Price Little People cowboys have any idea how laden with significance they seem to be? I posed them on this chess board just because it was handy. However, my husband, who rarely comments on my painting, said “I like your cowboys! What are you trying to say by positioning them as king and queen on that chess board?” My father, upon seeing the painting, remarked “When you played with these 35 years ago you were obsessed about them as models for the perfect man in your life. You just couldn’t decide between red or yellow hat, so you married one that doesn’t wear a hat.” Okay…

UPDATE: My dad made up the thing about my embuing them with creepy symbolism. Thanks Dad!

Hamtaro and Totoro, take 4

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:15:03 +0000

8×10 acrylic on cardboard, 2012. These two are long-time V.I.P. toys in our house, and this is my fourth portait of them! The first two versions were puchased off the walls of exhibits, and the third was commissioned by someone who had seen the second but didn’t get to it before it sold. My husband and I originally bought the foot-tall Hamtaro in 2004 as a sort of mascot for his Toyota Matrix, which we called “The Hamster.” We bought the little Totoro for Sonja, hoping she would love the movie as much as we do (and she does!) I got myToulouse Lautrec on with this portrait, which is painted on a piece of cardboard that has been calling to me from the back of one of Sonja’s activity books for weeks!

Owl Finger Puppet

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:13:10 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. We bought three of these little guys in different colors from the gift shop at the wonderful Saratoga Children’s Museum. Sonja barely had to point at them and I was already gathering them up, saying, “of course we’re getting these!” I actually don’t often encounter toys that I’m moved to buy, but when I do, there is no hesitation. Rarely one to use a toy for its intended purpose, today Sonja stuffed this poor finger-puppet full to bursting with “noise putty.” Fun! And gross!