"Nibbler"

"Nibbler"
2015
oil on canvas
12 x 12 inches

I actually painted "Nibbler" back in February of this year, but I'm only getting around to writing up the post about it now, as he was painted as a surprise gift.

Nibber is a Steiff handpuppet rabbit who belongs to my friend, Paula. Paula's husband, Reeves, helped me bunny-nap Nibbler for a couple of weeks, without Paula's knowledge, so I could paint a portrait of him for her.

At first, I started off Nibbler's portrait in front of my cream-colored walls, which is what I had used for a background for Walter's portrait. After our first couple of sessions, I figured out that there wasn't enough contrast between Nibbler's grey fur, and the cream-colored wall.


original background

I happened to know that Paula is an avid sewer, and has lots of fabric swatches in her home. Part two of planning with Reeves involved us going through some of Paula's fabrics to find a suitable backdrop. I decided on this white and red fabric, knowing that Paula has created curtains and pillows of it in her living room. I thought it would make for an interesting and contrasting background for Nibbler, without being too busy.


Nibbler's cousin (Paula found him as an adult, and added him to her collection) posing in front of the fabric swatch.


new background looks much better! almost complete!


Nibbler's still life set-up

the final portrait completed