5″x7″ acrylic, 2010. This bunny, who belongs to four-year-old Ella, is one of four identical bunnies: One sits pristinely on a shelf, while the other three enjoy equal rotation and affection. Ella can tell them apart with one little squeeze. The most beloved of them has a spot of brown paint on its back, left foot and is known adoringly as “Paint-Bunny.”
Sometimes the source material I’m given to paint from is inspiring to me for ridiculous reasons. In the photos sent by Ella’s mother Kristen, the bunny’s wide gestures and forward posture and the dramatic back-lighting evoked a Nineties-era Hype Williams hip-hop video for me. This kept me amused throughout the painting process, even while I kept in mind Kristen’s wish that the portrait be “very serene” and “a little vintage looking.” Is there such thing as late-nineties vintage?
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5″x7″ acrylic, 2009. When he commissioned this little painting as a gift for his girlfriend, Ben requested that in the portrait this bunny be restored somewhat to it’s former pinkness. She has had this much-loved toy since childhood, and in the photos provided it does indeed appear to be a worn-out white. So hopefully the rosey tinge to the fur in ths painting will bring back some nice memories!
4″x5″ acrylic, 2009. This is a tiny painting of my husband’s childhood stuffed bunny. The bunny was unearthed a couple of months ago at his parents’ house and shown to me with a sense of extreme reverence. When I asked what the story with it was, there was a lot of shrugging and looking at one another. “It’s a bunny, and it’s a…ball,” the family finally agreed. I love that there really isn’t any more say about it than what is evident in its serious wear and tear. 
