Feathers

So what have I been working on for the past few months?

And why does it take so long to get these paintings done?  

Well, early this year I got the desire to paint a Rooster.  I think I needed to play with the color and find a mate for my "Tuscan Chicken" (see my limited editions).

I found a bold beautiful red one in Point Reyes Station .  His name is Sonny Boy, owned by Bonnie Perry.  With great luck, he was willing to pose for me, while Bonnie kept the other Rooster, an Araucana from sneaking up from behind.

I thought I had it made, but that was three months ago, and here I am still working with my little brushes, building up my color and trying to get the bird off the ground.

I don't know why it takes me so long.  The composition came along pretty quickly, but the details, oh the details.  Rendering the chest feathers has been a real challenge.  And he needed a foreground.  I found some great grasses whose green seems to go well against the reds and rusts of the bird.  

So every day I work.  sometimes a lot, sometimes a little.  Defining feathers, delineating grass.  Trying to make the balance between the two work.