Mountain Lion Born from a Hole in a Jackrabbit Skin

I have often mentioned on this blog that when using natural materials such as wood and animal hide, I “listen” to what they tell me as to how they would prefer to be metamorphosed best. Sometimes the shape of a piece of wood makes me creative enough to transform it into a seemingly unexpected new form (https://vaheark.blogspot.com/2020/02/avian-metamorphosis-of-piece-of-wood.html);  other times the texture or the defects in a preserved hide challenge me to give them a new meaning.

It was the latter case when I looked at a hare (Jackrabbit) skin with a large hole in it. Here is the skin from the furry side

And the inside leather surface I use for my painting

Immediately I thought I could paint a cougar (mountain lion in the American South West) and make that hole an eye.

So, the first sketch of the dimensions looked like this

Then the mountain lion face started taking shape but the right eye was a true challenge because it sunk lower than the left eye given that I was filling the gap with paint.

However, that seemed like an opportunity to give this painting a three-dimensional character, and I proceeded as such by adding a cottontail rabbit’s tail en guise of eyebrow. Suddenly both eyes seemed to be inquisitive, synchronized and slightly mischievous. Perfect!

The final touch was to add the wing of a moth as an earring; quartz and turquoise stones for peripheral delineation of the face; rubbing slight oil paint to increase contrast; and using the tail of the Jackrabbit to hold two feathers making it a capricious addition to the frame. By the way, the frame is all hand-made, and the bear, tipi tents and cowboy boots are cut from deer hide.

And the final product is a mountain lion born out of a hole in a hare skin!

January 26, 2020

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2020