not raven mad, but a bit hare-y

The plans for new development in our area have been well-documented, and there is undoubtedly a need etc etc but arghghgh I find it so difficult to watch construction sites setting up, laying tarmac, moving in heavy plant, grubbing out hedgerows and chainsawing mature trees. The main road I drive down to get anywhere south of my house opens out into a large roundabout with fuel station, Travelodge, and large privately-owned hotel, and the industrial estate along the main road adjoining has recently been expanded. This is part of the next 20-year regeneration project and it makes complete sense to build on a scrappy field on the corner by the roundabout, but nonetheless, whenever I drive past in recent weeks, I want to cry. There is currently a 3-way temporary traffic control so I get to spend time viewing this vista as I wait for the green light.

This is absolutely not NIMBYism but the sad fact is that many of these designated development plots remain untouched for some time – often years – before they themselves get the green light, and consequently the scruffy, brambly, overgrown patch which is cordoned off from dogwalkers, cyclists and bored teens becomes a haven for wildlife. There are acres of farmland opposite this area (for the moment anyway) so there is definitely alternative habitat but it still makes me upset especially when, while slowly navigating the traffic control, I glimpsed the bedraggled and broken body of a hare in the gutter of the road.

We are all too familiar with road casualties, and the remains of pheasants, squirrels, foxes and badgers and it wouldn’t surprise me if these are all many people get to see of their local wildlife. I once found a struck Tawny Owl in a lay-by and I was pleased I was able to rescue its lifeless but almost perfect body, study and appreciate the wonder of such a bird, and then give it a dignified burial.

I wasn’t able to do the same for the poor hare, but as an artist I wanted to commemorate it somehow, and I am always in need of an incentive to draw mammals.

I started with some pencil sketches of brown hares from Pinterest and online images:

They are quite an odd, angular shape, with coarse, brindled fur, and much less typically cute than rabbits. I found it difficult to work out how to draw their feet as of course they are usually sitting in grass or on earth, and searching “hare’s feet” was problematic. Shape-wise, they remind me of cheetahs, in that it’s obvious that their are built for movement rather that sitting still, and their essence is in their locomotion. I found myself falling in love with their large eyes, huge ears, and awkward limbs, like a gawky teenager that doesn’t realise their beauty.

My method of illustrating relies on colour-blocking shapes, and this works well with birds as feathers are, for the most part, smooth and create a sharp, crisp shape. I struggle, however, to portray mottled plumage (that means you, Curlew and Red Grouse, and your moorland heathery-coloured pals), as well as anything fluffy (mammals and bees). So, here we have a furry creature with mottled colouring. Anyway, here goes:

I actually really like him! And it’s been great to properly study another species. RIP little hare.