PREY (2026): Finding Beauty in Vigilance
When we think about rabbits and hares, we often think of them as gentle, peaceful animals. Spend a little time watching them, though, and a different picture begins to emerge. They rarely stop moving completely. Their ears flick constantly, they scan their surroundings, and even while feeding they remain alert to the possibility of danger.
That quiet sense of vigilance became the starting point for Prey.
Prey | 2026 | Acrylic on Canvas | 40 × 40 cm
The painting explores what it means to live by instinct. For prey animals, survival depends on reading their environment, responding quickly and never becoming completely at ease. Rather than illustrating a dramatic moment, I wanted to capture that underlying state of awareness that shapes their everyday lives.
The composition is built around four rabbits arranged in a circular formation. Their repeated forms create a rhythm that encourages the eye to move continuously around the painting. At first, the arrangement feels balanced and almost decorative, but over time it begins to suggest something more restless. The movement has no obvious beginning or end, reflecting the endless cycle of watching, reacting and surviving.
Texture became an important part of communicating this idea. Instead of relying on intricate detail, I used layers and surface pattern to create movement across the painting. Combined with a deliberately limited colour palette, the focus shifts away from realism and towards the energy of the composition itself.
Although Prey is inspired by rabbits and hares, it isn't really about a single species. It's about the behaviours we often overlook in the natural world and the quiet resilience that allows animals to survive. There's something compelling about creatures that live with such constant awareness, yet still manage to go about their lives with an almost effortless grace.
I hope the painting encourages people to spend a little longer looking—not just at the rabbits themselves, but at the patterns of movement, the textures and the atmosphere they've created together. Sometimes the most interesting stories in nature aren't found in moments of action, but in the tension that exists just before.
Process
Prey developed gradually through layers of oil paint, with texture playing a central role from the early stages. Rather than building the painting around fine detail, I focused on creating movement through repeated forms, surface marks and tonal variation.
Restricting the colour palette was a conscious decision. It allowed the composition, texture and relationships between the rabbits to become the focus, while creating a quieter, more contemplative atmosphere that supports the ideas behind the work.
Prey is an original painting and forms part of my ongoing collection of contemporary wildlife art.
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