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On March 2nd, blogger Yousei thanked me for the use of my painting for her banner as she had wanted something new at the top of her blog. Thank-you, Yousei. We e-mailed a little back and forth and the task of coming up with something pertinent, hopefully to her blog, became the next project I undertook. I repeat, I do NOT consider myself an illustrator. Designing a banner took some measuring skills as they are a certain size. Even as close as I tried to measure my watercolor paper, I still had to crop the above image a little on the bottom. I know. No big deal, but it was for me, Miss NON-TECHNICAL!
Here is the thought behind the banner. Yousei’s blog is a writing blog, primarily poetry. You can check it out, here. She uses the name Yousei Hime which translated means “fairy princess”. Her blog name, Shiteki Na Usagi, stands for “poetic rabbit”. She likes blue bonnets. She was able to send me a picture of her favorite rabbit. However, the thought that came to my mind was that I don’t do princesses. 🙂 I searched through my drawings from life drawing and found a simple line drawing of a woman that I thought looked feminine and right for the part and drew her on the right side of the banner. I then went in search of “bunnies” in different positions as I was not too intrigued with just the idea of one rabbit and found a lovely assortment of poses I could use. I carefully placed her favorite rabbit looking at her. It is the little gold one facing her. I decided to keep the woman looking pensive as though she is hearing the rabbit speak to her through her mind’s eye. I rendered the other rabbits all in variations of the same color so they appeared to be of the same warren or family. I overlapped and entertwined their shapes, one atop the other, not unlike verse I hoped. The bluebonnets were rendered using pointillism in order to supply more color and variation.
I first thought rabbits would be an easy subject material to work with, but not so. Other than their ears and eyes they are like an oval or a ball, neccessitating my search for the ins and outs of their form. I will return to trying to paint them again in the future.
Leslie White 
57 Comments
Thank you, Leslie. I love, love, love the banner. I’ve put it up for all to see. I’ll put a post up about it/you/and your blog tomorrow. 😀 Thank you again, sweet, dear friend.
You are totally welcome, Yousei! 🙂
Leslie, it’s just lovely.
I don’t often comment here, though I do wander in occasionally. (nothing personal, but when a post has a billion comments, I tend to think my one more will make little difference, and I am not the kind of person to do more than fringe dwell on the poetic/arty world ~ smiles!)
But your work is delightful and you seem such a dear, it’s irresistible to say a little hello after reading about your efforts for Yousei.
Everybody’s comments make a difference! I am glad you made yourself known! and welcome your visits with open arms! Anybody that home schools has got to have a full day! 🙂 ….and a special arty side I think! I love fringe dwellers! Thank-you for your kind comment.
I think this painting is absolutely gorgeous. It is so pleasing to my eye. I love bunnies… indeed any cute animal. So, this is heartwarming to me. Well done Leslie. I love it.
Thank-you, Amanda! These little guys would look nice hopping through your “Secret Garden”. Your new blog is beautifully designed!
Indeed Leslie! I would love these little guys to be spotted hopping through my “Secret Garden” EXACTLY what I had thought when I first saw them… alas, I am contented to take a peek at them on Yousei’s blog.
Leslie, this is wonderful. I like the playful bunnies, they are all beautifully painted as is the woman, The colors are gentle and pleasing to the eye. Very, very nice. Linda
Thank-you, Linda. You mention something I concentrated on and that was the colors. I felt the bunnies had to look like extensions of the poet, “fairy princess”, as I envisioned them as her words, her verse, so to speak. I was so glad her favorite rabbit fit well with the colors needed to render her. I then just used variations of the same colors to push and pull the shapes of the overlapping rabbits. When I squint, they appear golden. The bluebonnets were a given and their colors helped to punch the images.
Very sweet, Leslie. As usual, I love your color choices.
Thank-you, Karen. I try to spin off color combinations like triads and complimentaries. This was a variation of red, yellows, and blues with a little green thrown in. I don’t know a ton about color theory but it fascinates me.
Congratulations to Yousei for having a Leslie White original on her banner.
And congratulations to you for capturing what sounds like a perfect example of Yousei’s personality.
I have a personal like for bunnies so this is a favorite of mine. Woman’s face and the bluebonnets all add up to one beautiful blog banner.
You like BUNNIES?!?!? Did you ever have one for a live-in friend? I hope I captured her personality so thank-you. It seems we all develop a kind of online persona don’t we? …I guess that is some of the fun about blogging, I’ve found, is that imagining, through our words what everyone is like. Thanks for these comments, Carol!
The banner looks fantastic! Very thoughtful and also helps me to learn more about Yousei. The pensive listening look of the woman in the painting is a nice touch. Awesome, Leslie 🙂
Thanks, Adam! Aren’t all of you poets pensive and listening? If not, I have categorized you all as constantly having beautiful jumbles of words bouncing around inside your brains and putting it all together for us to enjoy! Don’t burst my bubble. I think people who can take words and create pictures, stories, poetry are little mini-Gods of communication explicitly here for me to reap the benefits. I love reading!
Not seen these before Leslie – fantastic and such lively colours – very nice indeed! I like the woman looking thoughtfully at them as they tumble as if from her thoughts!
Thank-you, Lynda! I like your idea of the bunnies tumbling from her as if they were her thoughts. Thanks for that insight! I told you they weren’t like March hares! 🙂
This is just lovely with the cheerful, lively colors and all of the different angles.
Thank-you, Bree. A little more feminine than the last post of the NYPD? 🙂 How’s your ankle or foot doing today?
HA! Oh, that foot. It’s all different colors and my ankle is still swollen, but I can put some weight on it. I’m walking with my grandma’s cane, which is entertaining everyone. 🙂 Thanks for asking, friend!
Glad to hear it’s not broke. I know! Isn’tthe kaleidoscope of color in a bruise fascinating? Ha!
You did a magnificent job for Yousei’s banner. I love bunnies too.
Thank-you, Lisa! Do you have a rabbit friend? Do you blog?
Leslie, this is incredible.
You’ve just begun to go on a roll i think
What a nice comment, Kokot. Thank-you! Also, I love it that you tried the continuous line drawing and then what a treat that you added color!
They are very sweet.And the girl who watch them is beautiful too 😉
I like the new banner that you made it for Yousei.
Have a great day,my friend!! 🙂 😉
Thank-you, Alina! You have a good day, also! 🙂
This is beautiful! The background detail against the soft rabbits is gorgeous. You have captured the innocence of Easter and the upliftment of Spring.
Pleasing work.
Thank-you sister, Nancy! Since I didn’t go out and decorate my flora and fauna with colored eggs as you have, this will have to do. 🙂 My thoughts, exactly, about the background having to be poitillism to offset the softness of the bunny coats.
I feel Spring!!!!!!!!
Kim
Thank-you, sister Kim of many words! 🙂 I am feeling spring, also. Yousei, who received this banner, has been blogging for spring for weeks. You must be at Nancy’s. I’m jealous…….
A perfect banner to go with her site. I have visited and love her poetry! You are amazing, my friend!!
Thank-you, Kate. So are you! with the banner contest and voting going on out there in Big Sur. That is so cool!
Oh my it’s stunning
Thank-you, Souldose!
Leslie, when I first saw this at Yousei’s blog casa I remembered all the rabbits that would ‘run’ around the house in the early morning while the coffee perked when I was in like the fourth grade. Ha! A wonderful memory I’d not pulled out for veiwing in years. Thank you!
Thank-you for this, Eva, and you are welcome for the memory. Bunnies? In the house? Did your family raise them or they were from outside? Oh my. I can remember fourth grade and begging for a dog, a cat or an anything to befriend. Bunnies would have been nice, but my Mother and Dad were not impressed.
Hi Leslie. LOL. The bunnies were very wild bunnies from the small surviving meadow area on about an acre of land in a part of the city that was just being developed. They were wonderful to watch. Sometimes they’d come right up to the screen door (of sliding back door) and look inside for a few moments. Something about the sound of the coffee perculating seemed to entertain them. grins. They were NOT fond of our young German Shepard, Tiny.
I watch the bunnies in my yard, here. I have a Jack Russell and I don’t know why the bunnies keep coming back, but they do. They have little escape holes along my fenceline big enough for them and too small for my dog. Thanks for answering my question. I hope yours stayed safe from Tiny! Don’t tell me if they didn’t!
Oh they were very safe from Tiny who was much more interested in getting his share of fresh coffee–complete with cream and sugar–every morning. He’d just lay there and watch the bunnies who apparently had had experiences with other dogs and hence were wary of all dogs.
What an awesome shepherd! 🙂
It’s a wonderful banner, Leslie! 🙂
Thanks, Beth! 🙂
I hope she’s happy – ah yes I can see she is!
LOL. Yousei is happy. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by, Sarah.
Very pretty banner. I put up some new pictures on my blog (the post before last). TTYL.
Thank-you, Tacy! 🙂
Leslie, you should seriously consider doing banners when you get requests/commisions. I am looking forward to Texas bluebonnets that will bloom next month or so.
Thank-you, Raji! Do the bluebonnets come out carpeting fields?
This is beautiful! I understand about rabbits being difficult to draw – I did a few watercolours of them last year and they took quite a bit of effort!
Thank-you, Val. It’s almost as though an artist has to reach into their bag of tricks to make them come to life a little. 🙂
It is a beautiful banner, and it fits Yousei’s site perfectly. You are quite talented!
Thank-you, Jennifer! Do you have a blog?
She does. 😉 http://dragonflypoet.wordpress.com/
Thanks, Yousei!
This is a great banner. Rabbits are not as easy as they look to draw or paint. I have two of them and I frequently try to use them for inspiration for my art. The pointillism is wonderful, that takes such patience. I would put this banner on my blog for sure. 🙂
Thank-you, Little Lynx! Finally someone who has experienced trying to capture their form and personality. When I started this, I thought I could just whip them off. I had another thing coming. Their simplified forms pose super roadblocks to give them their character and personality that we see when they move. Glad you shared my feelings on drawing them. 🙂
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