Betsy on the Nest

 

Sketching Betsy on the community nest - all of our hens lay their eggs in one nest each day!!  She's one of our sweetest chickens, one of two calico princesses we have.  I don't know if all chickens do this, but ours have fun the very beginning.  Only three times has an egg missed the family plot. Two were randomly in the henhouse and one in the middle of the run!  Both of the times they were in the henhouse, the nest was fill off 7 eggs already. And if one of the hens is still on that nest, they don't mind at all when I reach underneath them to pull each egg out. I'm so happy we started on this chicken adventure. Painting number 4784 in 4784 days. 

Weaving her Nest

 The second day's prompt from Inktober is "weave", so I'm sketching Betsy on the best, which she's woven for herself.  We have 11 chickens, and they all Leo in the same nest, until today!  Five eggs ended up in this nest, and two on the nest farthest from this one! It's the first time we've gotten 7 eggs in one day! So exciting!  And Betsy is a favorite, who is the first to jump on my lap, and loves being showered with attention!  She's a Calico Princess - and she certainly lives up to the name!  I plan to fill 31 pages of this new sketch book with Inktober prompts involving my chickens!  Painting number 4648 in 4648 days. 

Easter Eggs ATC

What a gorgeous day for an Easter celebration!  Family, friends, dinner and egg hunts filled the day, and only now are things back in order and I can unwind.  With a little ink and watercolor, I sketch a basket of eggs from today's egg hunt in ATC size.  Love the vibrant, happy colors - just painting them cheers my soul!  Just a little art therapy to end the day!  Painting number 2300 in 2300 days.  Happy Easter!

The Robin's Nest

The Robin's Nest
Oil on panel, 14x11
sold

Last summer, while pruning back a stubborn mulberry bush, I found this little nest tucked deep within the branches.  Much to my surprise - there were three tiny blue eggs inside!  I had not seen any robins nearby as I worked, and I couldn't believe the nest was in such close proximity to where the cats had frolicked daily.  When I decided to paint this, I thought it would be easy subject matter - knocked out quickly.  Wrong!  That sweet little nest of sticks was certainly a challenge!  Getting enough paint on was key - and then the pulling  strokes hither and yon, completed the nest.  I am channeling my inner spring with this 397th painting in as many days :)