I had someone come in my booth recently and they said Jackalopes originated in the 30's in Douglas, Wyoming. I just looked it up and they were right, according to wikipedia anyway. I guess 2 brothers who were hunters and knew taxidermy sold the very first one to a hotel there. Hilarious. I wish I could tell you a tall tale and say that they were seen back in the 1800s around campfires and cowboys but I am not gonna go there. Anyway, they make people laugh and I resisted painting them for a long time. I thought I was above painting mythical creatures, silly girl. I haven't painted unicorns or sasquach either. Who knows this could possibly be a whole new direction for me of mythical creatures. It is fun when someone comes in the booth at a show and asks if I have any. I want to say yes, there's one under my table here but I now I can say here is a print of my latest and greatest one. So now I've painted a squirrel with antlers and I am calling it a dear deer squirrel. You can see it on my website here. https://megharper.com/products/dear-deer-squirrel?_pos=1&_sid=56b8a3d50&_ss=r Who knows what other creatures I will embody with antlers now that I am not afraid of going mythical. I am suppose to be having fun when I paint right? Heck yeah. Well this is certainly fun for me.
The very first one was inspired by a gallery I am in in Prescott. The Ian Russell Gallery is fabulous and if you are up for a road trip please visit him. He has the biggest collection of my work other than me and it's a very fun gallery. So he says "Meg I really think you should paint a jackalope". I go into my story about how I'm not painting mythical creatures and I am above such subject matter, etc. Who am I foolin'? I am so about creativity and wonder. And that's what a Jackalope is. So, thank you Ian for asking and I really do love creating them and seeing the world love on them. Jackalopes everywhere unite and tell the world how cool you are. How your antlers help you stay alive and fight off predators. How story books are written about you. How tall tales are told around campfires with you as the staring role. We love you Jackalopes and I will continue to paint more of you. Maybe I'll even do a herd of you. That made me giggle just thinking about it. Perfect.
