More Chicks....
Banties in Oil
These Little guys are fun to paint! We used to have large flocks of free range chickens and banties. The banties multiplied faster than you can believe! When the hens sit on their eggs it is referred to as going 'broody'. Often times the hens would lay right next to each other so then when the chicks hatched they would be imprinted on both hens. The hens than would wander around the barnyard together with all the chicks like an ever moving cloud floating around the two hens. To me they looked like yellow cotton puff hovercrafts! When newly hatched their little legs so so tiny its hard to see them as they scurry all around. The whole group would hunt for insects and the hens could 'tag team' to protect the babies.
My daughter was quite young when we had our first clutch of bantam chicks and worried about the newly hatched babies. I explained to her that the mommas would take care of them, secretly hoping they were capable. No sooner were the words out of my mouth then we saw just a few feet in front of us a hawk swoop down to the hens and chicks. Fast as lightening one hen flew up in the air to counter attack the hawk and the other hen crouched down and spread her wings as all the chicks hoovered underneath. My daughter and I were quite amazed! They were very effective in taking care of themselves! I later wondered what kind of communication happened between the two hens beforehand to know which one would attack and which one would crouch down and provide cover?
I thought it was interesting how different the paintings looked against the different colored backgrounds. I also thought how crooked they are lined up in those photos! LOL! I can't hang them straight on the wall either! Why is it everything I do has to be off kilter? :)
Take care!
animal art and pet portraits
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