If you're like me, you think bunnies are cute. Jackrabbits are, too!
Hippity-Hop: Blacktailed Jackrabbit a/p 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm
I decided to paint him ambling along rather than running full-out to escape a predator (that may be another painting!) Still, I blurred the shrubs in the background to look like things are in motion. Also, the clouds in the sky are intended to simulate clouds of dust that the jackrabbit is stirring up.
Jackrabbits can run 40mph / 64km/h (compared to desert cottontail rabbits which run at 19mph / 30km/h), although it can be difficult to clock the critters because they zigzag when they run, and they often bound into the air so they can look above the vegetation to see if they're being pursued.
In our former home, jackrabbits would occasionally come by and share the rabbit pellets we put out for the cottontails. The jacks had a special, endearing appeal when they moved around in their long-legged lanky way when they seemed almost clumsy!
I'm glad I had an opportunity to paint one of these amazing critters!
Mark Junge
www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com
