This little rabbit is inspired by the beautiful, lusciously round rabbits that Jackie Needham (a ceramist) makes. Her site doesn't currently have them, but they're all-white, fat rabbits with soft faces and beautiful bodies that beg to be stroked. (Her other work is lovely too!)

I wanted to make a lovely fat, cuddlesome rabbit too; so I first drew and then painted this little lovely.

But, I've since stalled.

Initially, I imagined him on a shelf – a painted ceramic version, if you will, looking down at a little silver bird sculpture that I have in my house.  But then I realized I didn’t know how to convey a “silver” bird in watercolour (yet). So then I thought "A robin".

So I did a rough sketch of a harvest mouse, filled it in with frisket to protect it when I painted the background and put the bunny away to dry.

However, when I went back to it the next day, I realized, a harvest mouse (climbing grass!) makes even less sense than a robin. Aught.

So... okay, this is an outdoor scene. I painted the shelf blue to make it “water”, but as it was drying I realized I would have to add a lot more background for an outdoor scene that would make sense of a harvest mouse climbing the straws: grasses, flowers, assorted undergrowth – all of which would obscure my lovely fat rabbit, and which should have been done in the background before I even painted the rabbit.

I’ve since come up with another idea that I think will work, but before I can get to it, I have to finish the dress I’m making for a wedding I’m going to on Friday (I may have procrastinated just a bit.)

See you then. :)