Rabbits and Bunnies

I refuse to be labeled as “the rabbit artist”, but that’s what I have become.

I hate cutesy objects, and yet, I must have been drawn, for some unknown reason, to the little child’s bunny pull-toy at the estate sale. Furthermore, why did I choose the larger rabbit holding the pail and carrot, with that stoic expression on his face?  I did not ever intend to use the rabbit image as a stand-in for humankind.  It just evolved from somewhere in my subconscious.  I began to photograph the toys, have them enlarged, mount them on foam core board, and add them as cut-outs to my paintings.  The paintings were of environments I imagined that they might inhabit.  Using small cubes of balsa wood and glue, I mounted them to the paintings in relief, creating a shadow effect.  Later, when taking a class on encaustic, I repeated the same images but in a different context.  I can’t seem to analyze myself on these pieces, but they do seem to possess psychological drama.

I will leave that up to you.