This one's for me , Moon Hare

So this is the time of year I get very busy finishing off commissions , worrying whether they are good enough....feeling a bit stressed. So every so often I give myself a break and paint something just for me .

If I don't do this I think I can get a bit stale , and my work tends to suffer, I thought what will I really enjoy?. I haven't painted a magical moonlit hare for a while, I love to paint eyes and I have my gold leaf to use.....I know what I'll paint.

So I begin by looking through photos of hares, this one isn't a particular one, as they don't often look upwards, but more of a whimsical drawing of a hare looking skywards.

Next I cut out a circle of masking tape to serve as a moon

Then I used masking fluid on a paper clip to draw in some seed heads, a spiders web, whiskers etc, have a look at the finished piece to see them more clearly.

Now leave that to dry completely, then I did my favourite bit, the eye. I love this part, I want it to sing, and although this is a stylised piece I want it to look real.

 

I also concentrate on the parts around the eye so it sits properly in it's socket.

Now I get a bit looser and paint the hare's face

I am using a lot of yellow ochre, with umbers and browns mixed in. I move around the hare and mix that with the body too.

A bit of scrunched up cling film adds a bit of texture, although me being me I don't think I left it there long enough.

Now I am moving up the paper, still with yellow ochre, but then I move while it is still wet to Indigo.

I paint a circle of water around the moon to show the moon light , and sprinkle some salt on for good measure.

So now all that has dried I can add some gold, copper and silver kleaf, I applied the glue with an old small brush

then I lay the leaf over the top and leave overnight.

Then I bush it all off with a dry brush

My magical hare is done

 

It really catches the light

It is a lot of fun to do

 

Do something this week that makes you happy, now back to my commissions.....