Laura Mallaghan Illustration

 It's Easter Sunday today, with good weather as well. This Easter, I have been painting my joint 3rd foster rabbit, Pickle. Back in May 2012, he was brought in to me from an animal hoarding house, he came with another rabbit. His breed, I assumed, is New Zealand, he was very nervous and he hide a lot when he was in the house, the shoe rack and top of the storage box underneath the stairs were his favourite spots. But when he was outside, in his own hutch with a large enclosed run, he was more relaxed. He also was curious and didn't scurry away whenever I approached him close, just to say hello. As shown from these two photos above. I gave him some time to get used to me and my family, to show him that people aren't that bad, he then found out that he really likes head patting! As well as he stays on the floor to relax in the house, instead of hiding away from us. In August 2012, he was adopted. From a shy, skittish rabbit to a very relaxed rabbit! Back to painting, with thi...

Here's an another pet portrait of my second foster rabbit. I'd like another reminder about having rabbits from Easter time. As I mentioned in this blog post: Rabbits are for life, not just for Easter , that we had one in this situation, a rabbit bought for Easter gift and later abandoned in the street. This is April the Abandoned Easter Rabbit. Back in 2012, Easter Day was on the 8th of April, a couple of weeks after Easter weekend, the kind people spotted her between the outer back garden and the field, comforted her while waiting for the RSPCA inspector. My family were informed about her and we went to collect her. My family and I named her April because she was rescued in April and we also thought it's suited her. She was a mini Rex, she does have a really nice velvety fur coat. She was quite shy but doesn't mind the human company around her, so she was a very sweet girl, and we thought she's a young doe. As we thought she's young, we assumed she must've ...

Rabbits are for life, not just for Easter. A week from today is Easter Day! This illustration is about an awareness of not to buy rabbits for an Easter gift to children, thinking they're an easy starter pet. (And the chicks!) I have been doing this illustration for the past few years, this becoming a thing for every year when it's closer to Easter, to promote awareness from animal rescues, rabbit owners and rabbit lovers (like me!) to think before buying something for Easter, as we don't want many abandoned rabbits, do we!  There was an example of a similar case from one of my foster rabbits! Although these two rabbits here, weren't abandoned a while after Easter, I like to talk about what it was like for them to go through, by trying to survive out in the strange world that they were not made to be. It's sympathising to think of their tough life. Meet Fudge and Cherry and their rescue story! Fudge was a brown rabbit and Cherry was a black rabbit, and they're si...