I’ve long been fascinated by the European Brown Hare.
It is reported that their numbers have dropped by about 75% since WWII
When I lived in a rural setting, walks across fields early in the year would occasionally offer sight of boxing hares, or just a single hare racing across a field, and, for no reason I could discern, ‘jinking’ to dash off in a totally different direction.
I love their fluidity of movement, and hope this is visible in this collection of studies….
The top image was made in Indian ink, using a stick.
By contrast, this fellow was an oil on canvas, in which his muscularity and beautiful colour are made clear.
Hares make me smile, so occasionally I would play with titles which made this clear. (Pun warning/alert!!)
“Bad hare day”. Another ink study.
“Haring off” (is though, not a pun?)
.
(Watercolour)
(Watercolour)
The final image below is one I am most proud of.
I wanted to capture the reputation which the hare has of being some kind of
shape shifter creature almost, often associated in folklore and mythology
with fertility, the moon, and supernatural abilities. Its elusive nature, nocturnal
habits, and dramatic mating rituals, have made it a revered and feared
species across millennia.
This large (½ imperial) watercolour suggests some of these characteristics.
These pieces are all sold.
I am very happy to be commissioned to make more.