Diabolino And His Nurse At Newby Hall

February 26, 2017February 26, 2017 / Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

By Miki de Goodaboom (Text and Illustration)

Spending most of these days, even weeks, in Gyles Brandreth’s Bear House at Newby Hall… I don’t know if I will ever come out again! At least artistically… there is nothing more soothing and rewarding than to paint all these gorgeous creatures.

At the Bear House there was a huge setting featuring a nursery, with loads of little Teddies playing and having fun together. One of them was so cute, sitting on his nurse’s leg… he looked so shy, and you did get the impression that he needed to be protected. The nurse really seemed up to that job, looking a bit tough. It always amazes me how each Teddy bear conveys a different character. Perhaps it is only me who sees too much in them, but when I look at them, I see their soul…

I called the cute little bear “Diabolino”… he looks like a cute little devil, despite the shyness… His ears do look a bit devilish… I love that little guy!

newby-hall-diabolino-and-nurse-s

Prince William And Kate And Kids At Newby Hall

February 23, 2017February 23, 2017 / Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

By Miki de Goodaboom (Text and Illustration)

My last post was about the Royal Balcony in the Bear House at Newby Hall. Noblesse oblige – I know, I know, they are all noble… 🙂 -, I had started painting Queen Elisabeth and Prince Philip.

Next to them were a young couple with two kids. I assume they were Prince William and Kate with George and Charlotte. At least the resemblance was amazing, and it was a delight to paint them.

Little George was holding a teddy bear himself.. one could hardly see him, but what a cute detail! My Truffle McFurry, so obsessed with celebrities, saw him very well though, and asked me to have him as George’s bear on the painting… I could not refuse -can you see Truffy on the painting?-, but no way I would ever give my Truffle to anybody in the world, not even to princes, princesses, kings or queens or even gods! I could lend him to pose for a photo with them, but that’s it!

newby-hall-prince-william-and-kate-and-kids-s

GrandMa And GrandDa At Newby Hall

February 19, 2017 / Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

By Miki de Goodaboom (Text and Illustration)

Let me introduce you to GrandMa and GrandDa, the gorgeous grand-parents from the Bear House at Newby Hall in Yorkshire, UK.

My own Teddy Truffle McFurry, who was there with me and Ann La Mar, was a bit upset that GrandMa and GrandDa had some numbers tattooed on them. I explained to him that it was like with the Paddington bears, that there are many of them, because they are so famous, and many people wants one of them.

“Does it mean that there will be many of me when I have written the best-seller and I am famous?”, he asked.

“Perhaps, Truffy. Would you like that?”

“Euh… I am not sure… I like to be unique, me…”

“Well, we will see then, Truffy. You would still be unique, you know. The other Truffles would just be copies of you. But anyway, first we have to write this best-seller, and for that you have to work now !”

“But it is Sunday… Daddy said it is Sunday and one does not work and one hangs around in pyjamas the whole day!”

My Truffy has always the last word!

“Hermann Dressed Bears: The Pauline Grattan request
The Teddy-Hermann company was founded in 1912 in Sonneberg, Germany by Bernard Hermann who had earlier worked with his father, Johann, in the family business, crafting children’s violins and wooden toys. The Hermann Dressed bears are now among the world’s most collectable bears and almost all the dressed bears here were generously bequeathed to the collection by a very special bear collector, Pauline Grattan.”

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Three Paddingtons At Newby Hall

February 11, 2017February 19, 2017 / Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Miki de Goodaboom (Illustration and Text)

In September 2016 my Teddy Bear Truffle McFurry and me travelled to the UK to make a Tour of Yorkshire with “Go Teddy!”‘s reporter Ann La Mar.

One of our most expected events there was the visit of TV celebrity Gyles Brandreth ‘s Bear House at Newby Hall, exhibiting many bears from his huge and famous collection.

Ann, Truffle and me will tell you all the details about that exciting day in our illustrated book “The Little Tour Of Yorkshire”, to be published at some point in 2018.

Before the trip, I had contacted Gyles to ask him for the permission of painting some of his bears. He had accepted, writing a charming email to Truffle and me, ending with the words

“With bear hugs and best wishes”

We loved that so much!

The first bears I painted are the first ones we saw as we entered the Bear House: the Paddington Bears. Having one Paddington at home (you can read about him in the post “Paddington Arrived To Spain”), we both were very emotional to see this famous brothers…

Once more I would like to thank Gyles to give all Teddy Bear lovers the opportunity to visit his wonderful bears!

newby-hall-the-three-paddingtons-s

Rupert And Rupert

June 4, 2016June 4, 2016 / Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

By Miki de Goodaboom

(Illustration based on photos sent by a Go Teddy’s Follower from the UK)

I recently had the immense surprise to receive 2 photos from somebody in the UK who has started following Go Teddy. Both photos were featuring “Rupert”, in very different forms.

Now, I said it before, I was introduced to Teddy Bears very late in my life, and consequently my Teddy bear culture is quite poor. But I am working at it, and I hope that Teddy Bear lovers around the world will help me knowing as much as possible about Teddy Bears. Some are already doing, and my Truffle McFurry and Me are very thankful to them…

I did not know Rupert, and I had to research him. Wikipedia told me many interesting things about him. Basically, Rupert Bear is a children’s comic strip character created by the English artist Mary Tourel and first appearing in the Daily Express newspaper on 8 November 1920. Interesting is that originally, Rupert is depicted as a brown bear, but his colour soon changed to white to save on printing costs!

Now this person from the UK sent me a photo of his Rupert Teddy Bear, a white Bear. And he sent me a photo of a very special brown Rupert, to be found in Linford Park Wood, Milton Keynes.

So I decided to paint them both together in that beautiful wood… and here they are!

Paddington Arrived To Spain

May 19, 2016June 4, 2016 / Miki de Goodaboom / 3 Comments

By Miki de Goodaboom

I don’t really know how that happened, but Paddington has just arrived to my town in Turre, Andalucia, Spain. And to be honest, until he arrived, I had no idea who he was! I said it before, my Teddy bear culture is very poor, but it is something I am working hard to better. And in the meanwhile I have done some research and found out that Paddington has been incredibly famous for many many years, all around the world!

Anyway… he told us that somebody put him in a direct train to Turre at Paddington station, in England, with that suitcase in his hand, and telling him to ask for Miki de Goodaboom when he arrives in Turre. That he was a birthday gift for her, and that he should live with her and Truffle McFurry and all his brothers and sisters and mates on Planet Goodaboom. And in his little suitcase, there were not his usual marmalade sandwiches, but 8 wonderful little books telling some of his life stories.

You can imagine my surprise as he stood there at the entrance of our town, waving the Spanish flag! I have no idea though which kind of train he took, as we don’t have a railways station here in Turre, despite that mega train track running through Andalucia… a building ruin in the meanwhile… It must be a magic train then, like the one Harry Potter is taking to go back to school…

So far our Paddington speaks only some sentences in English:

“I’m a very rare sort of bear”

Marmalade sandwiches are my favourite”

“It’s nice being a bear, especially a bear called Paddington”

Well, we are immensely thankful to welcome Paddington on Planet Goodaboom, and we hope he will live here happy until the end of times… which, I hope, will never happen! In the meanwhile we will send Paddington to Spanish classes…