A Hare in the Forest
 
What's the first thing you notice in this picture? Maybe it's the bunny that stops chewing to watch us. But the longer you look, the more you see that this quiet woodland scene is bursting with many other kinds of life too.

A thistle with prickly leaves is in bloom. A butterfly lands on a flower. A snail slowly makes its way down a large leaf. Can you find the lizard scurrying across the ground?

In every inch of this painting, there is a world of nature waiting to be discovered. Hans Hoffmann, who lived in Germany in the 1500s, was the artist. He shows us how even one small corner of a forest can be teeming with activity.

Hoffmann never saw this exact scene in real life. He first made drawings of insects, plants and animals that he found here and there. Hoffmann also made sketches based on other artists' nature pictures. Then he combined parts of all these drawings to create this painting.

Think of a small outdoor area in your neighborhood. The next time you go there, take a minute to look closely. How many different things can you find? Making a drawing of the area might help you see even more. If you were to make a painting, would you want to add other plants and animals, as Hoffmann did? What would you add to your nature painting?

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