Chook (and Doris) - Maree

This is Chook, my other rooster (besides Artemis) and he's a Silky x Bantam, and almost twice Artemis's size. But he runs like the wind if Artemis should even just look in his direction! Out of my 8 hens, he's got three that dare to defy Artemis and hang out with him - Doris, Babs and Ginger. They're actually very brave, because besides incurring Artemis's wrath, Chook is rather large and almost squashes them while "having his way with them"!

CHOOK AND DORIS PLANNING AN ESCAPE :

Chook: You know what the problem is? The fences aren't just round the farm. They're up here, in your head. There's a better place out there, somewhere beyond that hill, and it has wide open places, and lots of trees... and grass. Can you imagine that? Cool, green grass.
Doris: Who feeds us?
Chook: We feed ourselves.
Doris: Where's the farm?
Chook: There is no farm.
Doris: Then, where does the farmer live?
Chook: There is no farmer, Doris.
Doris: Is he on holiday?
Chook: He isn't anywhere! Don't you get it? There's no morning head count, no farmers, no dogs and coops and keys, and no fences!
Doris: In all my life I've never heard such a fantastic... load of tripe!
- Extract from the movie "The Chicken Run"

Artemis relaxing

Red rooster in your gray coop,
O stately creature with tail-feathers red and blue,
Yellow and black,
You have a comb gay as a parade
On your head:
You have pearl trinkets
On your feet:
The short feathers smooth along your back
Are the dark color of wet rocks,
Or the rippled green of ships
When I look at their sides through water.
I don’t know how you happened to be made
So proud, so foolish,
Wearing your coat of many colours,
Shouting all day long your crooked words,
Loud . . . sharp . . . and beautiful!
- Unknown

This is Artemis relaxing on the lawn, Kiep's husband and love of her life. They hang out together most of the day and he protects her against Chook, the other rooster, keeping a vigilant eye on anybody that strays too close. He has actually gotten quite tame since hooking up with Kiep, as he sees how calm she is with me and will come right up to me and take food out of my hand.

1 Jan 2012 - Waking the sun every morning - Maree

Artemis waking the Sun every morning at 4am on our smallholding in Tarlton, South Africa (or so all our other farm animals believe!)

"Chanticleer is a proud rooster whose singing wakes the sun every morning (or so the other farm animals believe). His singing keeps the other animals happy and the farm free from downpours. However, one morning, Chanticleer is attacked by a rooster sent by the "Grand Duke of Owls". Chanticleer wins, but forgets to crow and the sun rises without his singing (it is not greatly hinted, but it is believed the Duke raised the sun with his powers as a means to help his plans of getting rid of Chanticleer). The other animals reject him and drive him out of the farm, causing a perpetual rainstorm and the beginning of the Grand Duke's reign of terror on the farm."
- From Edmond Rostand's comedy, Chantecler

Here's wishing everybody a beautiful sunrise every morning in the years to come and may your 2012 be filled with LOVE, JOY and INSPIRATION!

Artemis Fowl - Maree

Though quite intent in his pursuit
He has a merry tune to toot
He knows a song
Will move the job along
- From "A spoonful of Sugar", Mary Poppins

Artemis trying to entice Kiep to come and have a snack - he's discovered a few stray mealie pips and after much clucking and coaxing, she did eventually condescend to pick up a few!

My chickens are fully grown now, supplying me with gorgeous, free-range eggs and hours of pleasure watching their antics in the garden!

Buyers' Corner - Maree

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.”
- Elbert Hubbard

Ink, wash and collage in my Moleskine 200gsm "Country Diary"

I started a Country Diary a while ago, which consists of paintings, sketches and collages depicting nature, rural and farm life. This was my first entry and it was a nice break from my regular landscapes and sketching. I'd forgotten how wonderful it feels to play again! This is one of my roosters, Artemis, and he actually makes quite a willing sketch subject, not minding standing quietly close-by as I sit and sketch in the garden. I've actually got far too many roosters for the amount of hens, so I've put some of them up for sale.

I sometimes think I'd rather crow
And be a rooster than to roost
And be a crow. But I don't know.
A rooster he can roost also,
Which doesn't seem fair when crows can't crow.
Which may help some. But I don't know.
Crows should be glad of one thing, though;
Nobody thinks of eating crow,
While roosters they are good enough
For anyone unless they're tough.
There are lots of tough old roosters, though.
And anyway a crow can't crow,
So maybe roosters stand more show.
It looks that way. But I don't know.
~Unknown

Kiep - getting all grown-up! - Maree

"Dearest chicken, lovely bird,
Love is not too strong a word
For the way I feel for you,
And hope you feel it for me too.
I love you more than I can say,
And even more each passing day!"
- Unknown

Soon all my chickens, including Kiep, my pet hen, will be wanting to lay eggs (they start laying at about 20-24 weeks old, 4-6 months) and Kiep is 25 weeks old now. She is spending more and more of her time with Artemis and only wanders into my Studio at odd occasions now, preferring to roost on the back of the office chair in stead of sitting in the drawer of my desk! Their first eggs will be small and a hen will lay about 20 dozen (240) eggs in the first year and probably no more than 1000 in her lifetime.

So now the hunt is on for nest boxes to put into my two chicken coups, but I've got this feeling that they will prefer to be laying the eggs all around my garden, which their mothers used to do, and I don't really mind, except it's just a bit of security risk as we do have some wild cats and Genets around.

Solly's hen and rooster - Maree

All around the barnyard
The animals are fast asleep.
Sleeping cows and horses,
Sleeping pigs and sheep.
Here comes the cocky rooster
To sound his daily alarm.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Wake up sleepy farm!"
- Unknown



This is one of Solly's roosters again, with the mother of the previous little chicks I posted. I did the sketch of her some time ago, and just now decided to add her rooster in watercolour - he was good enough to stroll past a couple of weeks ago, and I managed to get a quick (partial!) sketch of him before he disappeared around the corner! the rest of him was left up to my imagination.

Beating a hasty retreat! - Maree

“A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing.”
- Muhammad Ali, American Boxer



Just a quick capture as one of Solly's roosters decides to beat a hasty retreat! His chickens really brighten my day as they come strolling through the garden!

Solly's other rooster - Maree

Solly's Rooster | turning expectantly | fresh pastures ?
Haiku



Yesterday morning, Solly's rooster led his troop of hens into my yard, knowing there's always some seeds to be found near and under the bird feeding tables. I watched them for a while and then quietly seated myself at my patio table, pencil and paper at the ready. At first he was giving me the beady eye, and having climbed through the palisade fence to get in, he wasn't quite sure which was the quickest way out!

When he saw it certainly didn't look like I was going to come after him any minute, he allowed his hens to stay just long enough for me to finish the sketch and as I got up to fetch my paints, he gathered them with great concern and headed for the gate. So the rest of him, including his colours, was left up to my imagination!

Fine Feathers - Maree

"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds."
- Aesop



This is my neighbour's prize bantam rooster, as far as I'm concerned, anyway. I did this from a photograph I took of him on a very windy day and he had a lot of trouble staying on his feet as the wind kept catching him from behind, sending him scurrying with fast little paces!

Sketching Farm Animals - Maree

Sketching farm animals has always been a passion of mine. Each animal has it's own interesting character, like the Silky below - they are very calm and placid chickens, unable to fly, with pure, white silky-to-the-touch feathers. As I was sketching this hen, she would calmly survey me, moving one, gentle step at a time, seemingly keeping her pose as if she knew I was trying to capture her beauty.


"Silky Hen" pencil sketch and a touch of watercolour in Moleskine notebook

Kentucky was a Bantam rooster, cocky and sure of himself. I raised him straight from the egg as he was the runt of the chicks and actually didn't look like he was going to make it. With tender loving care and great spoiling going on (he was allowed full access to the house), he turned into the King of the farm yard, ruling his roost with an iron claw.

He had this peculiar habit of falling into a trance when you circled your finger in front of his face and that was how I managed to do this sketch. You could even turn him over on his side or back and he would just lay there, fascinated by the moving finger.

Sadly, Kentucky fell prey to a Genet because he refused to go into the chicken coop and insisted in sleeping in the Pin Oak just outside our bedroom window.


"Kentucky"

Chinese Watercolor Roosters

Chinese Watercolor Roosters
Originally uploaded by Ricky Holtman

Well I had a day in the studio cleaning....whoopee! So I just decided to go through and practice some styles I haven't painted in for quite a while. This of course are the famous fighting roosters in the Chinese watercolor style.
It was really challenging again and fun. Moleskine book. You know how I am about birds and especially roosters..ahahha