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

Fleagle

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:23:14 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. I’m sure that this is not an uncommon position for favorite toys to find themselves in these days, propped up or flung upon various technological accoutrements! I was unreasonably excited when Clint, this pup’s owner, gave me the thumbs-up to include the phone and the computer mouse in the final portrait. So modern! Fleagle was originally given to Clint’s younger sister by their parents when they were little, but Clint was more interested in him and quickly claimed ownership. The toy has traveled with Clint into adulthood and now into the arms of his own little girl, Mia, who is highly amused by the wacky personality which Clint has infused in Fleagle via a sort of puppetry! Clint recieved a gift certificate for this custom portrait from his sister-in-law Deanna.

Warm and Cold Puppies

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:51:30 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. Well, I’m fascinated by the fact that small children can evidently distinguish warm colors from cool colors. I showed this portrait to my three year old and asked her to tell me which she reckoned was the Warm Puppy and which was the Cold Puppy, and she WITHOUT HESITATION pointed to the correct toys! They were given their clever monikers by Susan’s little boy Graham, who turns five next week. Susan tells me that, actually, “Cold Puppy” was so-called due to his less-substantial, de-fluffed state in comparison to Warm Puppy, but I’m confident that the dogs’ respective colors were intrinsic to the naming process. Cold Puppy was given to Graham at birth, and Warm Puppy was purchased later as a back-up. However, as has been shown repeatedly in my data-collection, such a hierarchy seldom lasts! Warm Puppy soon became a constant companion as well, although Cold Puppy still enjoys a bit of favoritism.

Pup-Pup

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:16:54 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Richard reckons that his nephew George attached to this stuffed dog partly to parallel his big sister Evie’s beloved Bug-Bug. But it’s clear from the graying and wear on Pup-Pup that George’s love for him is lasting and true! Evie’s portrait of Bug-Bug has been hanging in her room ever since her third birthday, and she is now approaching five. Their uncle Richard thought that George would enjoy having Pup-Pup watch over him at night, too! George will recieve this portrait for his own upcoming third birthday in February.

Phoebe With Books

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:19:33 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2012. As I’ve said before, you can choose a hand-stitched Waldorf doll or tone-on-tone felted owl from Etsy for your child, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Resign yourself to pink plastic or, perhaps, a color-blocked polyester velour dog. Phoebe was given to Arianna when she was very small by the family’s nanny, Lili. Both Arianna and her little sister Caroline adore Phoebe and love to dress her in brightly patterned outfits which further enhance her primary colors. She has lost limbs and her nose repeatedly over time, but Lili always lovingly sews Phoebe up as good as new. The books in this portrait belonged to the girls’ father when he was a child and in turn became favorites of Arianna and Caroline. This set of four by Maurice Sendak is called “The Nutshell Library,” and includes “Chicken Soup With Rice,” “Pierre,” “Alligators All Around,” and “One Was Jonny.” I have written about “Chicken Soup With Rice” in a past post, as it is the one book that I read every single night to my own daughter and was a huge part of my own childhood! This painting is one of two portraits commissioned by Heidi of her daughter’s favorite things. You can see my portrait of Caroline’s Lammy here.

Orange Pup

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:17:58 +0000

9″x12″ acrylic, 2011. According to the Chinese Zodiac, we’re just winding down the year of the rabbit. But around here? Definitely the year of the floppy-eared dog! There were certainly a lot of stuffed bunny portraits in 2011, but as the holiday orders ramped up, somebody let the dogs out. This long-eared specimen, known simply as “Pup,” belonged to Jean’s husband when he was a child, and is now the favorite toy of his son. His warm-orange fur might be specific to the dog’s era of origin, and was such a pleasure to paint! This portrait will be a birthday gift from Jean to her step-son.

Floppy Blue Dog

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:26:54 +0000

5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. Hey, remember that blue dog snuggled up to a little lamb blanket a few days ago? Doesn’t this dog look JUST LIKE IT? Has anyone ever seen them in the same room together? As a matter of fact, I know of at least three people who have. They would be five-year-old Sophia, eight-year-old Alex, and their grandmother Michelle. Each child has a floppy blue pup, and Sophia also has a gorgeous stuffed lamb/blanket. Michelle will give these little portraits to Sophia and Alex for Christmas.

Blue Dog and Lamb

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:37:12 +0000

5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. As I head into the final stretch of my busy holiday season, I am listening to lots of stand-up comedy on Youtube to stay sane while painting. And so this little portrait of a stuffed dog and lamb will forever conjure Margaret Cho for me, as she happened to be keeping me company while I made it! This is one of two portraits commissioned by Michelle for her grandchildren. Interestingly, the two kids each have the same sort of floppy blue dog, but Sophia, who is five, also has this fabulous lamb blanket-head. I adore the mixed patterns of the flowered blanket and checked scarf on the lamb!

Brown and White Dog

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:49:18 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Floppy-eared Stuffed Dog week continues — it’s like shark week, but with stuffed dogs and floppy ears! This brown and white pup is the favorite of one of Michael’s two boys. A portrait of his other son’s two blue dogs can be seen here. These paintings will be given to the boys for Christmas by their father.

Two Blue Puppies

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:11:26 +0000

8″x10″ acrylic, 2011. Ah, it’s floppy dog season! I’m suddenly swimming in big-eared, sweet-faced stuffed puppies. There are three between Michael’s two sons alone! This sunlit portrait of two blue pups is the first of two paintings he commissioned as Christmas gifts for the boys. Check in tomorrow for the second portrait, which features a brown and white dog of somewhat more upright posture!

Puppy the Puppy

Jennifer At Your Toy Portrait — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:59:31 +0000

5″x7″ acrylic, 2011. There are fifteen years between Lisa and her younger sister, but as children each had beloved stuffed puppies, both named “Puppy!” Lisa’s sister, now twenty, still brings this floppy-eared, brown-and-white pup along on all her travels. As a Christmas gift, Lisa envisioned a portrait of the toy with her sister’s favorite Tiffany blue as the background .