Hi, The Travelling Chicken and Co. arrived from Victoria on Salt Spring Island (a short ferry ride away) to visit me Evelyn Oldroyd.
TC and SeniorAzul had a great walk to Beddis Beach where they enjoyed the sun, waves and sand.
The next morning TC was awake enough to go to the beach again for a portrait in the early morning light before the sun was up!
TC sat on a small rock at the edge of the water (very brave as the water was cold!) and enjoyed the lapping waves and view of the other islands in the distance.
Soon after they arrived we were off on a road trip to Christina Lake in the Boundary Country of British Columbia. This meant a longer ferry ride very early in the morning. Little Chicken and her chicks stayed snugged up, but TC and SeniorAzul came up on deck to enjoy the views.
At Christina Lake TC & Co. stayed at Cascade Cottage on the first tee of the golf course. They enjoyed the beaches at Christina Lake had hoped to go floating on the Kettle River, but smoke from the many fires in the province came along which made being outside too uncomfortable.
We had hoped to have another painting session before they left, but had to get going to Cache Creek, another town in British Columbia. We did take the opportunity for a few photo sessions so I hope to get more paintings done!
London Baby!! And by London, I mean London, Ontario (Canada)
After a long journey across Canada, TC and Señor Azul arrived late last night. While a bit tired, they were in good spirits.
Who is TC & Señor Azul? Who am I? Why did I want them to come visit me?
Just in case you don't know, TC (a.k.a Ms. Hen) and Señor Azul are a ceramic Hen and Rooster duo who are on a mission to spread artistic joy around the world. They travel from artist to artist in order to have their portrait painted and also to meet great new friends. It is such an amazing and unique project that has large community. Click here to the history of the Travelling Chicken.
Most of you also may not know me - my name is Kathy MacKay and I am a Canadian artist that lives in London Ontario. You can learn more about me by clicking here.
One reason I was so excited to be part of the travelling chicken project was so my own Art Mascot, Stuart, could finally meet the famous TC and Señor Azul. Stuart, a travelling elephant mouse, follows the Travelling Chicken Blog religiously (he gets his tail in a real knot if he misses a post!). If you want to learn a bit more about Stuart, you can either read my blog post about him or check out his Facebook page. '
Now that introductions are out of the way, let the latest leg of the journey begin...
After a good night rest, and in true rooster & chicken fashion, TC and Señor Azul were up this morning at the crack of dawn! They started the day with a delicious breakfast. Fuelled up and ready to go, our first stop was Westminster Ponds, a nice conservation area in the city.
Next, Ms. Hen and Señor Azul FINALLY met up with Stuart (and a few of Stuart's friends!). While he was so excited to meet them, Stu was definitely star struck upon first encounter (can you say tongue tied? I've never seen the little guy so quiet). But TC and Señor Azul were so friendly and so down to down to earth, that Stuart quickly got over his initial fright. They spent a fun day visiting and even viewed some fantastic art.
Here are the photos we took last night and today. Hope you enjoy. We will be sharing more photos as their journey continues!
TC & Senor Azul upon arrival. They report a good trip.
As TC and Senor Azul well know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
TC and Senor Azul wanted to go for a little dip at Westminster Ponds.
Ms. Hen sat for a little study for me - to help prepare for her more finished portrait.
Hanging out on my car!
TC, Stuart, and Senor Azul checking out my art collection (an Elena Katsyura & a Carol Marine - both original!)
From left to right: Red the Squirrel, Stuart, Dr. Duck, Señor Azul, and TC
Seriously? they needed a mid-day nap? I can understand why Stuart was so tired - he didn't sleep at all last night because he was excited to meet his favourite travel bloggers.
Stuart, TC, Senor Azul, and Red - posing for a photo.
CHICKEN AND CHAMPAGNE
5" x 7" Slim wrap canvas
Professional Acrylic and Champagne Sparkles
Bid or Buy at Daily Paintworks
The Okanagan has been growing grapes for over 40 years, but in the past five, wineries have been popping up around every corner. Its not just the tourists that love our wine, us locals frequent the many bistros and patios during summer. Many offer free entertainment and even picnic ares for the family. The largest winery restaurants even stay open year round.
Ms. Chicken lured Azule away from his Ogopogo hunting expedition for a pleasant day vinyard hopping. Azul had heard about our champagne method wines and wanted to take some bottles home for his friends. We sat on a terrace with our wine to enjoy the view. TC found the sparkly bubbles quite fascinating and before I could stop her, she had hopped into my champagne bowl. She said it was quite exhilarating, a cross between a jacuzzi and a polar bear swim.
I tried and tried to get a good image of this painting:There it was sparkling in the sun with the deep impasto creating dimensional shadows, but every photo came out dull. This is definately not a dull painting, during the day it sparkles and at night it glows. You will have to use your imagination.
Sad to say the traveling companions will be leaving the Okanagan for their next adventure. They will take with them some wonderful memories and many souvenir postcards of their visit.
A fond farewell TC and Azule.
Souvenirs of the trip
All Limited Edition 6" d 8" Canvas Prints Only $29 including shipping. Available only to Travelling Chicken and Paint a Masterpiece Blog Followers. But act fast as there are only 10 of each and then they're gone forever.
The Travelling Chicken and I have been thoroughly enjoying our weekend.
Snr Azul headed out early with his camera to capture ogopogos image and get the reward. I don't rate his chances highly as people have been trying to get a shot of our illusive monster since photography was invented. Nevertheless Azuls obsession left us girls to enjoy some alone time.
First TC helped me with my spring cleaning and then I showed her how I create abstracts on my iPad. She begged to be included in one and although I pointed out that including her portrait turns the work from digital abstract into digital collage, she still kept calling them abstracts.
iPad Abstract I
6" x 8" Limited Edition Canvas Print of 10
$29 including shipping
iPad Abstract II
6" x 8" Limited Edition Canvas Print of 10
$29 including shipping
iPad Abstract III
6" x 8" Limited Edition Canvas Print of 10
$29 including shipping
TC iPad Abstract I
6" x 8" Limited Edition Canvas Print of 10
$29 including shipping
TC iPad Abstract II
6" x 8" Limited Edition Canvas Print of 10
$29 including shipping
TC iPad Abstract III
6" x 8" Canvas Print Limited Edition of 10
$29 including shippining
As these Limited Editions are exclusive to Travelling Chicken fans, please contact me here, or via this blog to purchase. Don't delay though, because there are only 10 of each print.
Ms. Chicken has arrived in the Okanagan and is recouperating with her traveling companion Snr. Azule. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Ms Chicken, she has been traveling the world for over 5 years visiting artists who paint her portrait. She has had many amazing adventures including getting lost several times, being unable to get painted due to a flood and getting smashed at a party (literally). You can follow her escapades from the beginning on her blog here.
The worldwide artists have hosted over 70 visits so far and it gets laborious to see all the paintings via the blog: I decided I would like to see all those portraits in one place, so I've compiled a collection on "The Traveling Chicken" Pinterest Board click here. All the links take you back to the original entries on the blog and you really need to visit the blog.
So back to Ms Chickens current trip. After a good sleep the couple headed out to the balcony to inspect the brightly colored geraniums which had just come into bloom. The weather was lovely and warm, the sun was out and spring was in the air. They frolicked among the leaves for a while playing hide and seek.
Then Azule, always protective of Ms Chicken, saw she was getting tired and suggested a rock massage. The only problem is he got it all wrong, insisting that this was the way it was done.
Over the next week before TC leaves Sea will be creating several iPad Drawings and at least one painting, so drop in again for more of Ms Chickens adventures in the Okanagan and an opportunity to purchase a unique chicken portrait.
The friends have requested to stay for Art Battle competition on June 16th, which their hostess, Sea Dean is participating in at the OK Corral. Then they will be on their way east. In the meantime they will be busy sightseeing and posing for portraits.
They are particularly interested in trying to spot the lake monster Ogopogo, depicted below in a collaboration between Sea and her nephew Spencer. I believe the reward for capturing Ogopogos image is what most interests Snr Azule, but Ms Chicken wants to swim with Ogopogo and ask him for a ride.
OGOPOGOS LUNCH BY Sea Dean and Spencer Arguedas
More about the past traveling adventures of Ms Chicken and her companions at http://travel-chicken.blogspot.ca
Follow Sea Dean at www.paintamasterpiece.blogspot.com
All links to view more art, comment and purchase link from there.
Currently available for commissions and pet portraits.
In case you're wondering, although there are various gramatical rules, traveling is spelled with one 'l' in the USA and two 'll's in The UK. As the chicken started her journey in the UK, her title uses the UK spelling, although that is not set in stone. :)
So where is St-Lazare? A question even some people living 30 minutes away from us wonder. It's a little town west of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
We have horses and crazy big trees. It's the country only steps from Montreal.
So TC arrived with his friends and I was sooooooo honoured to be hosting him for the week!
As soon as they arrived they took this selfie
I had to finish a commission before I could paint him so he had to be very patient… and me too because I had so many ideas for her!
While she waited he made friends with my favourite knickknack, the Tiffany blue unicorn.
Then it was time to try some of the painting poses I had imagined for her. Here's one example of how things look better in my imagination then in reality. This happens A LOT!
So I decided to paint him in a pair of jeans because painting jeans make me so happy. I also thought her beautiful yellow colour would pop out in contrast to the blue.
Here she is making sure I get the shade just right. She was very scared I was going to make her look like a turkey.
It's now time to go visit the next artist! I will never forget you TC xxx
Our own yellow bird decided to hop on the ledge to see what all the commotion was about!
The Travelling Chicken was really excited to finally land in Nova Scotia!! Her entourage were giggling with delight when they were set free from their packing. It was a chilly day, so TC and the gang decided to sightsee from my window ledge.
Ms Chicken suddenly became very excited when she spotted these little yellow finches. She began clucking saying their feathers were the same beautiful color as hers. Everyone became quite noisy exclaiming "Yes they are T.C.!!"
While I made a hot pot of tea, my visitors continued to enjoy all the new friends that were coming to visit our bird feeders. Over tea, I asked T.C. if she would like to pose for me in my studio later. I told her I had bought some beautiful pansies to keep her company. She was delighted and really excited to see my studio! It is so much fun having all the gang here for a few days!
After two years of waiting for Little Ms. Chicken, she finally arrived. We had a wonderful week, going for walks amongst the blossoms of cherry, peach, apricot and apples. No trip to this area is complete without a wine tasting, and so we enjoyed the fermented fruits of the region. That's when Little Chicken ask to be painted in the studio. We had much fun, and she was quite surprised (as you can see from her wide eyed expression) how the wine went to her head! A good time was had by all the gang, and they look forward to their next adventure as they get underway on Monday. Safe travels, Traveling Chicken, and may you continue to bring the world together through art. CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE OF MY ART
After hearing they missed the blooming of the fruit trees in British Columbia, the gang had a fit to go back before continuing across Canada. Julie Mai was happy to host our little world travelers for this wonderful time of year! It is a beautiful day! The sun is shining! And, everyone is basking in the warmth and the lovely scent of the fruit tree blossoms. Beginning in April, the arrival of millions of breathtaking Fruit Tree blossoms in British Columbia marks the beginning of another season of the world famous tree fruit. The orchards come alive with a kaleidoscope of colours and the sweet fragrance of spring Vancouver is in the thick of their annual Cherry Blossom Festival! Taken from their website: "The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival story is one of romance. It is an annual celebration that marks the reawakening in our community of all that makes us alive and human. We smile at one another. We take our lunches under the spreading blossoms. We spend the warming nights beneath illuminated clouds of flowers. We celebrate as men and women have celebrated since time immemorial with poetry, music, dance, good food and drink, laughter, and love."
I was quite perplexed by TC's spots. Are they eggs? Had she recently been to Disneyland? I didn't want her to feel embarrassed by them so I put her on this polka dot backdrop and I think she felt right at home.
Traveling Chicken and company will be on their way back to British Columbia, Canada to visit Julie Mai and I'm sure they'll have a wonderful time. I'll be checking in for future blog posts about TC's travels!
The Traveling Chicken and her entourage have landed in Eston, SK, Canada!
They weren't surprised that there was still snow on the ground in Saskatchewan. They were given fair warning during their visit with Marcela in B.C. that Saskatchewan weather can be quite finicky. The snow had mostly melted away at one point, but we've been having some late winter pushes this spring.
I wanted Ms. Chick to experience the warmer Saskatchewan landscape in all its wheat-loving glory. So I let her take in this painting of a summer storm over the prairie field during harvest. Saskatchewan, after all, is also known as the "Land of the Living Skies" and "The Bread Basket of Canada."
I will be sitting down to create a painting of Ms. Chick today and then I will send her and her friends to continue their travels... Stay posted!
Wow, we had a blast!! TC and company finally calmed down
from the excitement of being here in Victoria, BC and posed for me for a couple of
hours. They were delighted to find on my coffee table a couple of books
on Traveling Destinations and Must-See places. They spent the entire
time hanging out on a pile of some of my favourite art and travel books
in my studio planning their next escapades (I didn't have the heart to
tell them it was all already planned out for them!). All in all we spent
a wonderful week, telling stories of travels, art and painting and it
was all music to my ears as traveling is one of my passions. I LOVE to
discover new places and cultures and can't wait to go on another
adventure.
It was quite the teary event yesterday when I put them
back in the box and sent them off to their next destination:
Saskatchewan! (one of Canada's provinces, the third one from the left). I
did check the weather forecast for them in SK and it shouldn't be too
bad (It can be very cold there!)! Have fun with them Christine, the next artist to host them :)
Not
sure if the painting is finished yet, but I had had enough of it that
day! I may go back in and redefine some lines, what do you think? Is it
finished to you? Comments and suggestions always welcome! Art by Marcela Strasdas
