Thursday, March 20, 2014

Chicken Family


Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 6 inches -- Click here to buy

While the Traveling Chicken crew enjoy a stay in the central Washington, Ms. Bianca met a Japanese Rooster, Haku (means "white" in Japanese). Haku is a plastic figure I have in my studio. They fell in love at first sight. Bianca requested an extension of her visit. Now they have a couple of baby chicks. Unfortunately, it is time for the Traveling Chicken crew to leave for Indiana, the next destination. She's going to take the baby chicks with her. She asked Haku to come with her, but he said that he needed more time to straighten things out with Ms. Duck, his current partner. Ms. Duck is another miniature figure in my studio for painting reference. Haku and Duck have been together for several years.

For this painting, I originally planned to take a photo of the still life setup, and paint from the photo, so that I could ship the TC package sooner. I also thought it would be easier to see the tiny subjects if I see the closeup photo on my tablet next to the easel. But I figured that it would be harder to paint because the color and value are so distorted in a photo. I love the subtle glow of warm yellow reflected from the baby chicks.

Haku and Bianka with the chicks enjoyed posing in the shadow box in my studio all day yesterday. The TC crew are now off to Indiana.

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