Bad Hare Days

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I believe it was Advanced Math class, back in high school, that I was made to read Alice in Wonderland. On a related note, our Geometry class class had to read Flatland by A. Square (Edwin Abbott Abbott). Both of which are awesome books. I've since read Flatland over again!

Now, however, my memories of Alice in Wonderland's story have been a little twisted by movie adaptations and comics and video games and the like. Especially Jan Švankmajer's Alice, a stop-animation movie involving a super-creepy stuffed scissor-wielding White Rabbit.

You know, I always thought the White Rabbit seemed a little cracked out. Always rushing around; worrying about this & that; trying desperately not to be late for something. You could totally pull a druggy motif out of that story.

So, I drew a tweaking rabbit. You've got to ask yourself, "What's in his pockets?" Snacks? Money? Poker chips? Marbles? Sand? Shotgun shells? Half-eaten candles? Sawdust? Chess pieces? Shrimp? Carrots? Lent? More pocket watches?

I'm not telling. And he's too far gone to reveal the secret. So it looks like your imagination will just have to keep!

Making a Mockery

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Illustrations by Brian Jocks

Ever since reading this story I have been trying to illustrate the Mock Turtle. I've painted him, and drawn him over and over. So, obviously I've got finished pieces in a variety of media. Hope you guys like them.

In the book, Alice and the Gryphon run into him on the beach and he's weeping. He tells them he used to be a real turtle and talks about his school in the ocean. He goes on to teach Alice a dance called the Lobster Quadrille. In this dance, sea creatures dance with lobsters and hurl them into the ocean. I really liked the imagery, so I drew the Mock Turtle with a reluctant dance partner. It looks a little more like a crawfish than a lobster, but I figured that Crawfish Quadrille has a nice ring to it.


At the end of the book, Alice wakes up to the sounds of Cows 'moo'ing and this kinda explains the Mock Turtle's strange cries and his cowishness.

More sketches to come from Wonderland