My 'Hare' styles over the years

I am sorry . My dad loved a pun and I couldn't resist this one, but as with most of my subjects the style of my hares have changed and developed over the years. I love to paint hares and they are the reason |I began painting wildlife in the first place. I used to be a landscape painter, no animal or person made it into the painting ....until one day ....I was at a local craft fayre when a lady asked if I had ever painted a hare? I was trying to make a sale and she asked if I could try a hare for her daughter, I said I would have a go......and so a wildlife painter was born.

This is my very first hare, my very first wildlife painting....

 

Oh my , so it sparked something in me especially painting the eye, 

I decided that I enjoyed painting hares ( and lets face it things can only get better)

 

 

I began to add hares into my landscapes, they add a narrative to the atmospheric wood. I have also added them to Christmas cards , it makes me smile.

But I wanted to get better so I practised. I knew that for me the eye was the key

 

I felt these early attempts were too heavy, I need to be more economical with my brush strokes.

This was much better, much more of what I had in my head translated onto paper, saying more by painting less.

 

I was on a roll now and hares have continued to be a huge inspiration to me. I love painting their eyes, such wise and mysterious creatures.

The next challenge was to make them move....

 

 

One of my hares even made it into the wildlife artist of the year exhibition last year

 

 

 I still paint hares, my most recent hare was just last week. I continue to learn, I was given a great tip to use a paper clip to apply the masking fluid for the whiskers, as with all paintings, some paintings turn out better than others but in my experience practice is the key .