“March Hare” March 2024, watercolor, ink, acrylic gouache, 7.5″x10″
It’s Easter Sunday and I just popped two orange pills that promise to alleviate my headache, my fever, my cough, and my congestion. After 18 hours of mouth-breathing, I would settle for just being able to breathe through my nostrils the way nature intended. But Jefferson Airplane is running through my head, and I know the “ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all…”. Just like the little white ones I tried last night that assured me they would cure my congestion and sinus pain. Over the counter pharmaceuticals are no match for the common cold, severe allergies, flu, sinus aggravation…. actually, the only thing over the counter pharmaceuticals seem to eradicate is the money in my checking account.
It’s purely coincidental that it’s the day we celebrate a magical rabbit who hops from house to house delivering baskets of sweets and toys and Grace Slick’s “White Rabbit” is the soundtrack in my head, which feels as though hundreds of fluffy cottontails have crammed in for the holiday weekend.
But it is no secret that rabbits frequently appear in my art! Without thinking too much about it, they have appeared countless times. Sometimes it is a nod to Alice and Wonderland and the fascination I have always had with that story and its rich visual universe. Other times it is an intentional nostalgia for the bunnies that populated my late adolescent days.
As I worked on the latest rabbit watercolor painting, March Hare, I rejected the cute fluffy silhouette in exchange for the lean elongated shape of the desert hare. I wasn’t consciously examining the reason behind this choice- but as I write this, I think I made the choice because the rabbit holds so much significance to the human collective story. My unconscious mind recognizes the rabbit as the trickster, as in the southern tales of Brer Rabbit, and as the lazy boastful hare who races the tortoise. The image of a mischievous bunny in a little blue jacket snacking in the garden and the taller grouchier version shooing crows from the garden flicker through my mind like the illustrations in the thumbed pages of a children’s story. Brer Rabbit, Peter Cotton Tail, the Velveteen Rabbit, the White Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, the Fox and the Hare, the Tortoise and the Hare, these infamous rabbits and their stories instructed my childhood and imprinted themselves on my understanding of the world. (Bugs Bunny shouldn’t be omitted- but we will leave the celluloid universe for another day.) Countless cultures have stories that utilize the rabbit in its folklore. My share of man’s collective story around the rabbit is merely a phrase, if you will- a smudge of ink on a very long page.
I have included some images of the rabbits that have hopped from my mental Wonderland onto the page. A few of these are available as original watercolors images, some are available as digital prints. I know there will be more rabbits to come, and I can’t wait to see them materialize and ask them…”Who are you?”
I hope your Easter weekend was filled with bunnies of the chocolate variety! With candy-colored eggs, good times with friends and family, and the joy that comes from the re-emergence of Nature’s beauty.
I will be at Carney Fest in some form in April and at Cohlmia’s in May. Check out the Events tab at the top of this site for information. https://www.sparrowshinedesigns.com/events/
In the Studio
The two most recent watercolors I have painted have some connection to Alice in Wonderland, as I have been thinking about the things that inspired me early. The illustration of the caterpillar requires no explanation. March Hare is an amalgamation of so many inspirations! Art I have admired, my love for the rabbit, my fascination with Alice and Wonderland and Mother Nature. Among the motifs in this piece, you will discover the playing card suits as a nod to Alice. Dandelion seed heads embody innocence and whimsy. The use of materials such as ink and metallic watercolors fulfills my desire to play with the things that bring me joy.
This rabbit has been purchased, and I hope Judy finds as much joy in March Hare as I put into it. I decided to paint a slightly smaller version of this rabbit again. Its penciled form lies waiting for me on the drafting table, waiting to be tattooed with ink and watercolor. I am excited to see how number two (and perhaps #3) evolve.
Watercolor and metallic watercolor. 6×6 watercolor. Available.
Watercolor, ink, and metallic watercolor. 6×6 watercolor. Available.
Digital art. California White rabbit with hops wreath, hops bubbles, and “carbonation” bubbles. 10×10. Prints available.
What I’m Reading
- Eve by Cat Bohannon- My book club chose this one for our February gathering. It has been a FASCINATING look at the evolution of the human species from the FEMALE perspective! At times challenging, this book has been a joy to read. I have learned much about the paleontological evolution of the female body, but also about the pervasiveness about the male bias in all things science. YES…still reading. I’ve been such the SLACKER!
