Tuesday, July 03, 2007
checking in....
Nope, haven't fallen off the earth, but I figured I'd better check in and say so! I don't usually miss a week and a half. I was gone for a couple days up in Northern CA at a poultry show/BBQ and then went to visit friends. I just finished sorting through photos and have a LOT to post but I am soooooo dang tired and still not caught up on sleep from the weekend. Not sure if I'll get to it tomorrow. It's been work work work getting ready for the 4th of July shindig ever since I got home. Need sleep. Now! :-)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
the sort of thing that drives me crazy
So I have this commission I'm just starting for an illustration of a perfectly colored and marked feather from a particular breed of chicken. This is very "Standard-like" but is a private job for an individual person, not for any organization. Same rules apply though... "gotta be perfect." (yeah, no pressure or anything).
In non-chicken-person terms, it's basically a brown feather with black markings. There are a gazillion and a half different shades of brown (in poultry and otherwise) and this particular one is described as "bright reddish mahogany." Without looking in glossaries, in my mind that is darkish reddish brown, but high in color saturation, hence the brightness.
Other birds with similar shades of brown are described as "rich mahogany brown", "rich dark chestnut mahogany", "rich mahogany bay", "mahogany bay", and "deep reddish bay". Yup, each one is a little different, but very similar.
There are two different organizations in the poultry world, and each one publishes a "Standard".. a book that explains the ideal of every color and every breed, and it is by these Standards that the birds are judged. So if a show is sanctioned by both clubs, and the birds are to be judged under both standards, but judged only once, the standards ought to agree, right?
Hmm, yeah they don't. In some parts, yes, but not everywhere. I ran into a problem with this when I was doing the Standard illustrations, I was referencing the book from the other club, which had a different description, and I ended up having to redo one. Ack!
Now, I will say I do not have the most current edition of the bantam standard, so perhaps things have changed, but looking at the glossaries of both books just to clarify color, here is what I find:
BAY:
APA: light golden brown
ABA: reddish brown, color of ripe horse chestnut
MAHOGANY:
APA: deep glowing reddish brown
ABA: brownish yellow hue, medium saturation, low brilliance (to which red is included)
CHESTNUT:
APA: dark red-brown, darker than bay
ABA: brown; yellow-red in hue, medium saturation, medium brilliance
Oh come on, that's just ridiculous! [grumbles] I'm just going to do what I think is right. Psh!
(RJ if you are reading this the grumbles aren't at you, they're at the SOPs!) ;-)
In non-chicken-person terms, it's basically a brown feather with black markings. There are a gazillion and a half different shades of brown (in poultry and otherwise) and this particular one is described as "bright reddish mahogany." Without looking in glossaries, in my mind that is darkish reddish brown, but high in color saturation, hence the brightness.
Other birds with similar shades of brown are described as "rich mahogany brown", "rich dark chestnut mahogany", "rich mahogany bay", "mahogany bay", and "deep reddish bay". Yup, each one is a little different, but very similar.
There are two different organizations in the poultry world, and each one publishes a "Standard".. a book that explains the ideal of every color and every breed, and it is by these Standards that the birds are judged. So if a show is sanctioned by both clubs, and the birds are to be judged under both standards, but judged only once, the standards ought to agree, right?
Hmm, yeah they don't. In some parts, yes, but not everywhere. I ran into a problem with this when I was doing the Standard illustrations, I was referencing the book from the other club, which had a different description, and I ended up having to redo one. Ack!
Now, I will say I do not have the most current edition of the bantam standard, so perhaps things have changed, but looking at the glossaries of both books just to clarify color, here is what I find:
BAY:
APA: light golden brown
ABA: reddish brown, color of ripe horse chestnut
MAHOGANY:
APA: deep glowing reddish brown
ABA: brownish yellow hue, medium saturation, low brilliance (to which red is included)
CHESTNUT:
APA: dark red-brown, darker than bay
ABA: brown; yellow-red in hue, medium saturation, medium brilliance
Oh come on, that's just ridiculous! [grumbles] I'm just going to do what I think is right. Psh!
(RJ if you are reading this the grumbles aren't at you, they're at the SOPs!) ;-)
Light Brown Leghorn rooster done
"Light Brown Leghorn"
10x10 inches
colored pencil, graphite, ink
on white Rising Stonehenge paper
$680 plus tax and shipping
unframed, but custom framing available
This bird will be used in a digital image too, stay tuned (will take a while).
Friday, June 22, 2007
June 22 work in progress
Finishing the feet would be helpful... I *could* finish it tonight but knowing I have a bunch of stuff to do in the morning made me decide against that, since it would involve working til the wee hours.
I'll stick a shadow in there too. This is going to end up a digital piece (a la Wakeup Call) but the chicken-on-paper will be available for sale (price TBD). The digital aspect of this particular one is fairly complex and I'm not exactly sure of the composition, so it'll take a while. Not next week.
it goes to show...
That you never know! About a month ago I entered three art pieces in State Fair (which is not til August/September). I've been not as impressed with the equine art division the last couple years so I entered "The First of Spring" and "Levade." Also on a whim entered the somewhat controversial "Proud Heritage" in the drawing category. State Fair is a really tough show to get into. I've only managed it twice before.
Well, got my letters today. Two no, one yes. OMG, "Proud Heritage" got in!!!! Wow! You never know! ;-) Hmm, that gives me three weeks to get it framed. Ooh, that's not going to be cheap. :-/
"Proud Heritage" accepted
"The First of Spring" not accepted
"Levade" not accepted
Well, got my letters today. Two no, one yes. OMG, "Proud Heritage" got in!!!! Wow! You never know! ;-) Hmm, that gives me three weeks to get it framed. Ooh, that's not going to be cheap. :-/
"Proud Heritage" accepted
"The First of Spring" not accepted
"Levade" not accepted
Thursday, June 21, 2007
chicken pics!
I have not posted chicken pics for quite some time, so today I shall subject you to that. :-)
The youngest three batches from the 2007 season, yup some real size variation in three weeks!
One of the Something Duckwing pullets (between two Blacks). Probably she's Golden Duckwing... There is a younger one with dark legs but this one has better color.
The BEST BBRed color I have seen on a pullet, EVER. As luck would have it, she's single combed. Even worse, she's from the Duckwing breeding pen and therefore only 75% Rosecomb (so potentially going to have non-white ear lobes, dang it!) Time will tell.
A Cuckoo pullet. Still thoroughly unimpressed with them but again, time will tell.
Hey, that's a.... If you said purebred BBRed Rosecomb you'd be right. If you said what the heck that's a single comb, right again. Amazing how that gene persists! I know both the Brown Red breeding stock males carry it...
A birchen-ish pullet from the Duckwing pen. Hmm, that may end up being an inverted spike. Ugh.
Fairly decent colored Blue Red male (again, from the Duckwing pen, go figure!) The ear lobes are questionable, with him being 25% Old English...
"Granpda" Eddie. He lives with the youngsters, as he's very docile. Eddie hatched in 1996. He is my oldest bird, and the oldest bird I've ever owned. And he looks OLD but he's still very spry and doing well!
This was Eddie in 1997, Reserve of Breed at PPBA! Hard to believe he was that good, and AMAZING how much my BBReds have changed. Every one of them traces its ancestry back to Eddie, so he's pretty special to me. :-)
The youngest three batches from the 2007 season, yup some real size variation in three weeks!
One of the Something Duckwing pullets (between two Blacks). Probably she's Golden Duckwing... There is a younger one with dark legs but this one has better color.
The BEST BBRed color I have seen on a pullet, EVER. As luck would have it, she's single combed. Even worse, she's from the Duckwing breeding pen and therefore only 75% Rosecomb (so potentially going to have non-white ear lobes, dang it!) Time will tell.
A Cuckoo pullet. Still thoroughly unimpressed with them but again, time will tell.
Hey, that's a.... If you said purebred BBRed Rosecomb you'd be right. If you said what the heck that's a single comb, right again. Amazing how that gene persists! I know both the Brown Red breeding stock males carry it...
A birchen-ish pullet from the Duckwing pen. Hmm, that may end up being an inverted spike. Ugh.
Fairly decent colored Blue Red male (again, from the Duckwing pen, go figure!) The ear lobes are questionable, with him being 25% Old English...
"Granpda" Eddie. He lives with the youngsters, as he's very docile. Eddie hatched in 1996. He is my oldest bird, and the oldest bird I've ever owned. And he looks OLD but he's still very spry and doing well!
This was Eddie in 1997, Reserve of Breed at PPBA! Hard to believe he was that good, and AMAZING how much my BBReds have changed. Every one of them traces its ancestry back to Eddie, so he's pretty special to me. :-)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
June 20 work in progress
I'm not exactly zipping through this one, just seems to be lots of other stuff that needs doing lately!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
June 19 work in progress
He's a Light Brown Leghorn.
bird approx 8x8.5 inches
colored pencil, graphite, ink
Monday, June 18, 2007
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