Just the facts Ma'am

The Traveling Chicken and friends have arrived in Vermont. I didn't find the Mamma chick for a few days, I think she was hiding in the package to stay warm.

The gang has been off the road since September and the authorities decided it was time to check their passports and immigration papers. All is good and they will move on to the next location — across the street to my cousin!

The Usual Suspects  8 x 10 soft pastel

To see more of my pastels, check out my website HERE and my blog HERE

TC and Friends "Fun Times In Idaho"

Senor Azul was thrilled when he heard he would be visiting Cindy Gillett's studio in Idaho during January.  It was a perfect time to explore Boise's local ski resort Bogus Basin.  

The snow year was a bit late...but Senor Azul did a snow dance on the airplane, working his rooster magic.  In fact, as Señor Azul, TC and Hen were unpacking, six inches of fresh new snow fell on the mountain.  Whew, just in time!!!

He tried to convince TC and Hen that his idea was the best...but they were more interested in picking out the soft pastel colors to be used for their portraits. They were secretly hoping they'd spend their time sitting by a warm and cozy fireplace sipping hot cocoa instead.

Being kind hearted, TC and Hen gave in.  In fact, Hen thought she might try out snowboarding while TC and Senor Azul stuck to traditional downhill skis. 

Senor Azul was so excited on the chairlift he crowed all the way to the top of the mountain.  While TC was somewhat amused, Hen was simply petrified and kept peering over the edge of the chairlift, sure her little chicks would meet an untimely demise.  

"Fun Times In Idaho"

8x6, soft pastel $125.

Currently available for sale at: www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/cindy-gillett-5073

All in all, TC and Friends had a terrific time skiing in Idaho and yes, afterwards they all sat by the studio fireplace sipping their much needed hot cocoa.

A Grand Adventure with Julie Kirkland in Colorado!

Señor Azule, Ms. Chick, Mama Chick and her brood were feeling the need for a tropical vacation; and decided that a trip to Cancun would be just the thing to warm their cold feet and beaks. One day, as they were taking a dip in the Gulf of Mexico, they made the acquaintance of Margarita the Whale. Margarita was making her daily round trip swim from Cuba (she worked out each day to maintain her girlish figure). As they shared stories of their travels, Margarita mentioned that she often swam from the Gulf of Mexico and up the Rio Grande to visit the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. “A river from Colorado to the Gulf!” exclaimed Señor Azul. The chickens, having never seen the Rocky Mountains, all agreed that they would love to travel there someday. Margarita, being as adventurous as the chickens themselves, offered to take them on the trip that morning. So the chickens hopped on her back and away they went!

As she swam, Margarita explained that the Rio Grande is formed by the joining of several streams in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, just east of the Continental Divide. From there, it flows through the San Luis Valley, then south into the Middle Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico, passing through the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos. The river then continues south through the desert cities of Albuquerque, and Las Cruces to El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The Rio Grande ends in a small, sandy delta at the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, the river forms part of the Mexico-United States border. Its total length is almost 2000 miles. Needless to say, the chicks often grew restless and Mama Chicken would swim alongside Margarita to allow the chicks to burn off some energy.

Once they reached Colorado and The Rockies, Ms. Chick was astounded by the red rock formations and the height of the mountains. Margarita explained that, hundreds of years ago, the mountains were once entirely covered by oceans. She described many of the fossils that had been found proving this and also told them that dinosaurs had once roamed there as well. She even stopped to show them many of the dinosaur tracks embedded in the rocks.

Before heading off to the next artist in Canada; the little troupe decided to have one more trip to the warm sunny beaches of Cancun. While the trip into the Rockies had taken quite awhile (Margarita had been swimming upstream) the return trip went quickly since they simply shot the white water rapids back. Lying on the beach later that day, they all toasted their adventure with a pitcher of margaritas (their friend’s namesake) and agreed that perhaps they should venture below the equator someday.

See More of My Art Here

A Traveling Chicken in North Carolina

The Traveling Chicken and friends visited with us for a few days. They seemed to be exhausted from their travels, and just wanted to sun with our crew here at Holland Creek Farm. We got out the water misters and they had a swell time playing in the water.  They really enjoyed the weather; and sunned themselves afterwards.

They took a ride with us for an excursion about town, unfortunately the camera wasn't working. Some of the friends posed for Judy while she drew them and then painted their portraits.  She used those to make a textile picture that turned out pretty cool and will eventually go on a handmade bag that will appropriately be called
"The Traveling Chicken bag".

We hate to see the friends leave and Fred, Faith and all our other friends will miss them.
Safe journeying.

Judy Holland

Click Here for My Blog

A Bit of a Ruckus with Paul Quie in Stillwater Minnesota USA

Well the chicken arrived in time for Easter and they all found a new favorite friend in my house, here in Minnesota:

(manipulated photo exposure)

They were so happy to meet their new adopted mom, they all danced around; as I was busy with a couple of their friends:

(digital drawing)

In a strange sort of way, they reminded me of laurel and Hardy.

However, one of these traveling companions got in an argument with my cow.  I am not sure to the details of how it all began; but it was quiet a ruckus - a misunderstanding I am quiet sure.  Cows are roosters are usually great friends; even in China:

6x6 inches, oil on board

But, before you knew it, that cow was mooing up a storm; and said it was time for those feathery friends to go.  

Alas, I will miss them; as they are on their way to their next adventure.

www.paulquie.com

Ms. Chicken Has Fun in Byron, Georgia

Sweet little TC and her friends knocked on my front door on a Friday afternoon. We had nothing but fun fun fun for a whole week! As soon as the feathery flock unpacked, we began a tour of my country yard. Right away, TC fell in love with the three "birdie swimming pools" under a canopy of Live Oak trees. These became the highlight of her visit.

The chickens enjoyed hanging out on this baker's rack whenever I cooked our meals. It's near the back door, so they could watch the sun setting over the woods. Senor Azul would wade in a bowl of berries, pretending to make wine while the ladies chatted. TC talked of her sudden desire to contact Walmart and propose a new "Traveling Prairie Chicken" line of kitchen decor.

After much more time at the pool, Senor Azul was craving a "manly adventure." He soon spotted a stack of old firewood under a tall Hickory tree at the edge of my woods. "Perfect for climbing!" he crowed. These brave chickens were not afraid of the poison ivy that wove through the scene, but I was very careful. TC thought the ivy was beautiful, and she loved basking in the ray of light. Senor Azul was thrilled to be exploring and pecking for bugs...just like country chickens do.

We had another day of country adventure that included picking blueberries. Finally, Mama Hen asked that we play indoors so her babies could rest. (Little did she know, the noisy neighbor kids would come to play.)  It was time for me to begin TC's painting, so we all gathered in the art room. While TC posed, the visiting neighbor kids (aka "little monsters") tried to make her laugh.

TC and I stayed up late, discussing her painting and flexing our imaginations.  She wanted something to commemorate her favorite part of the visit...the "birdie swimming pools."  We hope you like what we came up with.  TC says I've captured her "wild and sunny side."  

TC likes this early morning view, embellished with stripes of light and hints of lace.

"TC is FREE!" is acrylic on 8x8 inches wrapped canvas.  TC's body is slightly metallic.  This painting and more can be seen at Art by Susan on my website, www.intothedeep.net .

THANK YOU for joining "TC and Friends" on her Georgia adventure!

Ms Chick and friends visit Scappoose and St. Helens, Oregon

After arriving on a raining day with heavy cloud cover and showers day after day,  the sun finally came out so Ms. Chick and friends visited the world's largest Candle, The Peace Candle of the World in Scappoose.

She traveled to St. Helens, Oregon to see the Columbia County Court House where Halloween Town was filmed, along with other movies like the Twilight sagas. Note: The town of St. Helens is in Oregon and Mt. St. Helens is located in Washington State.

the gang met This lovely lady and they found they had a kindred spirit.

While trying to find a good place to pose in front of the totem pole "welcome to Scappoose" sign, they ran into Woody and the gang and decided to pose together.  The totem pole sort of disappeared in the background by the tree.

Here the Trio are on the wall at the base of the totem pole...itty bitty.

It was so much fun at the totem pole, they went back to the candle for another pose.

TC spotted the Candle along with Mt. St. Helens in the distance.

Although still very hazy, after waiting 8 days for the clouds to lift, TC points to Mt. Hood in the far distance. On a clear day, there are several points in Scappoose, you can view the Cascade mountain range and see Mt. Rainer, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams all in Washington, and in Oregon, Sisters, Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood.  

It was a fun visit for the whole gang and reluctantly said their goodbyes.  They will be visiting Georgia next.

My painting of Ms. Chick will be posted soon.

http://loretta-twincedarssaddleryart.blogspot.com/

Post Card from Scappoose, OR

photo bomb by Senor.

6x6x1.5 acrylic on stretched canvas, image continues on all sides.

Guenevere's Traveling Chicken Oil Painting

It was an honor to have Miss Chicken visit my studio, we had a lovely time together. For her painting, she nested in one of my bright pink bows, with just her head and tail poking out. I couldn't resist this cute pose, and chose it for my painting.

I am mostly a still life painter working in a realist style. I enjoy working on large Hyperreal oil paintings that often take days and weeks to finish. I think of myself as an endurance painter as I try to challenge myself to make the paintings more and more real. As a counter to this tight realism, I also like the challenge of loosening up, thus, after a big painting, I will do smaller quick studies to loosen up and work on quick decisions. As you can see in this Traveling Chicken painting, I incorporated both my tight realism in the bow and then a faster loose style in the wall paper background.

I did the painting over three sessions, most of it being broadcast live. If you missed it live, you can always watch my time lapse here, Traveling Chicken Time Lapse.

The painting is an 8" x 10" oil on wood, it is available in my Etsy store.

Traveling Chicken's Live Audience Debut

Miss Chicken enjoying the Sunrise

Miss Chicken arrived in a large box a couple of nights ago. She became quite taken with our view of Mt.Hood here in Happy Valley, OR. After our initial meet and greet, she took to the balcony at dawn to herald the morning sun.

After Miss Chicken settled in, I introduced her to my live audience. Wednesday afternoon, with the help of my viewers, we set up for our photo shoot. Miss Chicken greatly enjoyed my bow and candy paintings, and she had a difficult time deciding which subject suited her best. Eventually, she choose a bow, nestling herself deep in a vibrantly pink one, she made herself at home.

I am full time oil painter working in a tight realist style. I am a member of the International Guild of Realism, thus my work is a patient endeavor. I work from photographs of my own design, although not a true Photorealist because I often modify my painting from the original photo, I would say I fit more into the Hyperrealism style, with occasional ventures into quick studies to keep my speed up.

As for my live audience, it is just that. I have opened my studio up to live viewers on Twitch.tv/GuenevereS I live stream from 3pm - 6pm PST Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I have embraced video as part of my work incorporating the live broadcasting as well as doing time lapse video for every painting. I encourage you to stop by for a visit to see how my Traveling Chicken painting is coming along. I will continue to work on the painting today and tomorrow from 3pm - 6pm PST. If you would like to chat with me live you do have to make an account on Twitch, but you are welcome to enjoy the show with out signing in.

If you can't make it to the live stream I will post progress photos on my blog, as well as the finished time lapse video after I finish the painting.

Miss Chicken and Gang admire the view.