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

Freddie

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:50:11 +0000

This OBVIOUSLY well-loved orange bear belongs to 33-year-old Lisa. Her father Frank tells me that “Freddie” has been Lisa’s constant companion all her life, but was misplaced and found several times. During one of his disappearances, two unsuccessful substitutes were brought in. They came to be known as “Freddie II” and “Guys,” the latter so named because he was purchased at the now-defunct Two Guys department store! “The substitutes held minor positions in Lisa’s stuffed animal cabinet,” Frank wrote, “but Freddie was always Prime Minister.” Fisher Price sold this “Freddy Teddy” toy from 1975-1981. Lisa altered the spelling of his name to the much more distinguished “Freddie” herself.

Pookie

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:14:01 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Last night I amused myself by going through my archives and adding the tag “grown folks” to all portrait posts about toys belonging to grown-ups. Boy, I nearly ended up with carpel-tunnel! About a quarter of the portraits I’ve painted were commissioned as gifts for adults by people who dearly love the child within them. These toys are absolutely, irrefutably “portrait worthy!” This bear, Pookie, has belonged to Wanda’s niece Sara since she was a baby, and she is now 26. Pookie was named after the comic-strip character Garfield’s own bear. Wanda tells me that he was once much whiter and plumper, and his nose has been squashed and nearly worn away. Sara happened to bring Pookie along on a recent visit so that Wanda could covertly photograph him for me, and the portrait will be a Christmas gift for Sara from Wanda.

Dolly and Bear

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:54:19 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. One of my very favorite toy stories is the one where the parent falls in love with a toy and is subsequently victorious in convincing her child to love it too! The bear in this portrait was purchased by Jennifer when she first became pregnant with her twin daughters Zora and Jane. “Having twin girls has been the greatest blessing in my life,” Jennifer wrote to me, “far more joyous (and exhausting!) than I could ever have imagined, and that Zora loves this bear represents this to me.” Jane’s favorite is Dolly, and is dragged to school each day, smothered in blankets and kisses while playing “mama,” and taken to bed every night. If Dolly is lost in the covers, Jane calls out “Dolllllllllyyyy” and Jennifer must come and find her. Jennifer notes, “They have many toys but these are the most cherished by far.”

Red Teddy and Scuppers

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:52:14 +0000

9″x12″ acryic, 2011. Here’s the second of two paintings in a multi-generational portrait project commissioned by Lynne for her family. While the first depicts the beloved toys of Lynne’s grandchildren, this painting commemorates their parents’ childhood favorites. Lynne’s daughter Julie was given Red Teddy when she was two years old. He was purchased by second-hand by Julie’s grandmother as a toy for her dogs, but Julie quickly claimed him for herself. Red Teddy was by Julie’s side through school, college, and into her grown-up life as a nurse and mother. Julie’s husband David loved the book “Scuppers the Sailor Dog” when he was small, and when his parents bought him this stuffed dog, it was named after the book. David continued to love boats and sailing all his life, eventually joining the Navy! Even though he ultimately became a physician, Lynne tells me that David would probobly rather be sailing than anything else. These two toys have witnessed so much of the lives of this husband and wife, making this a sort of sweet, symbolic portrait of the couple. Thanks to Lynne for a wonderful idea!

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Puppy and Bear

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 03:46:01 +0000

5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. Ding ding ding! The bells are going off as Patrick racks up Awesome Husband points for finding his wife a unique and special birthday gift. When she happened upon my website a couple of months ago, Patrick’s wife mentioned in passing that she would really like a portrait of their children’s two loveys. I wonder if he let on that he had tuned into that, or, as my husband might do to fake me out, just made an affirmative noise while staring at his phone? Patrick covertly commissioned a little portrait of Puppy and Bear, belonging to Liam (1) and Jack (3), respectively. Jack’s favorite part of Bear is his tail, which is well-worn, and Liam loves the silky undersides of Puppy’s ears. I hope that this portrait preserves a sweet, fleeting period in the boys’ childhood for years to come!

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Double Snuffles

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 03:28:35 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. The worn pink noses on these two Gund Snuffles bears denote an incredible tale of destiny! These bears are the childhood toys of Katie’s sister and her husband, who are expecting a baby in September. Katie tells me that an uncanny thing that the couple has in common is that they both carried their bears around by the nose in their mouths! I wonder at what point in their relationship this was discovered, and did they immediately decide to marry at that moment? This portrait will be a gift to the couple from Katie in celebration of the new baby. Here is another Snuffles portrait I did a couple of years ago… apparently worn noses are par for the course with these bears!

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Stewie

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:51:34 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. A couple of days each week, I pack Sonja and what seems like everything we own into my car and commute 45 minutes north to my parents house. There’s one bag for Sonja’s stuff, one for my running clothes and shoes, a cooler for food and drink, my laptop, my giant purse, and a big bag of art gear. A welcome uptick in business this year has caused me to need to use these visits to cram in as much painting as possible while Sonja enjoys her grandparents. This was fine when it was cold, but now that it is gorgeous and warm, it hurts a little when they run off to go canoeing or swimming. My parents live in Lake Luzerne, NY, which is packed with all manner of Adirondack-y delights, such as this spot:

…where I could be found last summer basking on a rock….

…but this year, I’m mostly here at my parent’s dining-room table while the three of them are off playing.

But this past Friday, I had remembered the kitchen sink but forgotten the correct-sized canvas for the portrait commission I was planning to work on. Frustrated, I turned to the stash of toys that my mom keeps there for Sonja (which deserves an entire post unto itself – stay tuned!) and decided to paint the main bear of the house, Stewie. In keeping with what seems to be trend in my recent work, Stewie reclines on an embroidered pillow. I think that if this happens again, I should probobly go out and enjoy the lake instead… summer is short!

Collin’s Bear

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Sat, 28 May 2011 03:39:27 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. This portrait is the second of two paintings won last year in a blockbuster Design Mom holiday jackpost giveaway. The big winner was Jo, and of her son Collin’s favorite things, she chose his toy ukulele and this wonderful blue bear to be painted. I love that the bear is sporting a rather boyish shirt along with a silky bow at the neck. He’s well rounded! He’s seated next to the same gorgeous avian pillow that appeared in the Ukulele portrait. Jo tells me that the arrival of these portraits might help Collin feel loved and special during the difficult adjustment to a new baby in the family.

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Maxie and Drum-Drum

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Thu, 12 May 2011 04:52:28 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Sometimes the roles our most important possessions play evolve with our own needs. Such is the case with these two bears, which belong to 4-year-old Jackson. The smaller bear, Drum-Drum, was originally a gift given to Jackson’s mother when she was pregnant… it was, in fact, intended to depict an expectant mother bear! Maxie, the large Build-a-Bear, was purchased for Maxie by his father, Jon. Eventually, Jackson took ownership of Drum-Drum and declared that it belonged with Maxie. No longer a pregnant adult female bear, Drum-Drum is now the “baby,” and Maxie is his “daddy bear.” Jon tells me that Maxie’s persona and voice are often Jackson’s vehicle for explaining his own feelings. “Maxie has had all your experiences,” Jon says. If you tell Jackson that you’ve been skiing, Jackson might explain the Maxie has also been skiing, and he found it to be a just a little scary, but fun. Now that Jackson’s parents no longer live together, Jon is hoping that this portrait, a gift for his upcoming birthday, will make the bears’ presence felt in Jon’s home even if they have been accidently left at mom’s!

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Marry Kate

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:12:43 +0000

5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. That’s Marry Kate with two r’s, making it potentially a command and a pun, but I’m sure that was not the intent of Zoe when she named this bear at age four. If it was, then clever girl! Marry Kate, a Ty Beanie Bear (which is larger than a Beanie Baby,) was a gift from Zoe’s grandmother when she had her tonsils out. This portrait will be a gift for Zoe’s upcoming twelfth birthday from her mother, Shannon.

Order a print of this painting:

More info about prints here.