Two Pullets

Two Red Pullets
Acrylic on canvas. 12" x 16".

The exasperating painter's block continues... another extended period of not painting, followed by a longer period of fiddling with paintings, but not completing anything. I had started this over a year ago then set it aside. The young, awkward pullets have since matured into sleek, plump hens.

The Rhode Island Reds next door are always getting into some sort of mischief. As young pullets they were looking like cartoon characters- dinosaur legs, skinny necks, craning their necks around. These ladies were on top of a dog house, trying to look through a window of the house next to it.

The background went through numerous changes, starting with detailed vertical siding and window frames, then that was replaced by a forest of alder trees, then a stormy sky... all of which proved to be too busy or distracting.  I ended up with so much paint loaded on the surface that there was no canvas texture left. I opted to cover everything up with a lighter colored layer of brush strokes, as I have been wanting to include more visual texture going forward. At first it was a little disturbing to cover up all the painstaking details I had labored over, but I really like this much better now.
Sometimes less is more.

Red Hen

Red Hen
Acrylic on canvas. 14" x 11".

This is a composite done from shots I took of the Rhode Island Reds next door. I like their boxy bodies, rich colors and dinosaur legs and toes.
Here I tried leaving most of the image in soft focus, except for the head. I like the effect, but feel the legs and toes might have been more interesting with a sharper focus/more detail. I may go back in and try that.

Rooster Jake

Rooster Jake
Acrylic on canvas. 16" x 12".
(sold)

Jake belonged to my neighbor until he tangled with a predator one night and met a sad end defending his hens. Nothing left but a trail of feathers.

One goal I had with this painting was to pay more attention to using texture and directional brush strokes. I rearranged some elements I didn't care for from the original photo, like the position of the fence. Still ended up with an awkward group of elements.
I immediately got into trouble with the the background so bright that it competed with the intense colors of the rooster. Graying down the colors in the grass, gravel and fence lines helped make the rooster appear brighter than the surrounding ground.
And once again commenced a long battle trying to articulate grass. Here I experimented with various brushes, and found the older, stiff beat up brushes were good tools to use.

Looking at this now, I think it could benefit from toning down the background even more. I may fiddle with it again later.