Slow Poke (Hug)

SLOW POKE

Approx 2"-3"

Acrylic, Ink, and Magic Sculp on Resin Figure

2012

On December 15th, 2012, Toy Art Gallery hosted Blamo Toys 4th annual custom show. For this show Blamo invited over artists to customize their "Hug" figure.
For my contribution, I started by considering the design and the idea behind the "Hug". Rather than being warm and welcoming, I wanted to make my figure repulsive and unsettling. My initial ideas revolved around covering it with spikes, but as time ran short, my idea whittled down to one strategic "spike". Once I settled on this, I did my best to make it visually unappealing. I started by changing his expression from smiley to sad (as if he were saying 'will someone please hug me?'), and sculpted a stubby and unflattering erect penis (complete with testicles). I then painted him a light flesh tone, drew in a mess of public hairs, and added the words "Slow Poke" as abdominal tattoo. I finished by adding my signature bear head, coupled with the name of my brand "Unbearable", as a back tattoo.
On hindsight, I think it's odd that when customizing toys, I find myself leaning toward themes I don't usually approach in my paintings, specifically sexual themes. You can see it in my Bellicose Bunny custom, and my My Little Pony custom. I'm curious to see what I create in the future.