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“Heritage Hen”
Original Oil Painting Click LINK to purchase this painting.
Size: 7 x 5 inches on Gessoboard, 18 x 12.5 cm (centimeters)
Style: Romantic Realism
Date of Creation: 2008
Painted with 100% lightfast oil pigments by Daniel Smith (USA) and Winsor & Newton (England)
Varnished by Nancy Lee with satin-sheen (mix of gloss and matte varnishes by Daniel Smith, synthetic methacrylate-resin varnish with UV protection)
Inspirations:
The child's face and hair are from my imagination, though her pose is based on one of my own photos taken at a Nebraska farm in rural Nemaha county during summer a few years ago. Her homestead dress colors came from an original dress on a 1865 German china-head doll in The Ultimate Doll Book by Caroline Goodfellow, page 47.
The girl is holding her favorite hen, a dark Brahma. Brahma chickens originated in the area of Brahmaputra India, where they were known as "Gray Chittagongs." They may have been related to Jungle Fowl and to the Cochin. These large chickens (more than eight pounds each) are gentle and quiet, making good pets that even like to be hugged. They have fancy feathers (fluffy on legs too!) that make them hardy in cold weather. Since they are good mothers, the girl's family kept them for fresh eggs and chicks.
According to the article "Enjoy Heritage Chickens" by Christine Heinrichs and Don Schrider (February/March 2005 of Mother Earth News):
Chickens are a perfect choice for homestead livestock; they don’t require much space or special equipment, and keeping a small, backyard flock is an easy and fun way to expand home food production. You can serve your family the freshest (and most nutritious) eggs they have ever eaten, and you can re-create the rich flavors of your grandmother’s homegrown/homemade fried chicken. When you raise your own birds, you also can be sure they are treated humanely and fed good-quality feed.
Read more of the article at Mother Earth News at this
LINK.
Heritage Hen ~ Western Art ~ girl ~ child ~ homestead ~ country ~ farm ~ chickens~ ~ Americana ~ oil painting ~ American Rural ~ Brahma chickens ~ Gray Chittagongs ~ barnyard ~ antique
Please send your questions and requests to Nancy
by email: nancylee@nancyleemoran.com
or phone: 402-274-3040 Central time
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