[Art] Sussex Hen as Totem

[moonvoice]

The first of four hens, the other three should be coming in different installments over the next few days. :)
These wonderful animals do not get enough love.
Especially considering how fundamental they are in so many of our lives.


Sussex Hen as Totem

Original available at Etsy
Prints available at DeviantArt

Comments

[paleo]

I really love the idea of giving Hen some time to shine. How different do the four types of chickens you've chosen to feature feel to you? I've only spent a good amount of time with one breed of chicken irl and thus don't have much to compare.

[moonvoice]

They felt quite different, but also similar - I mean they were all quite evidently the same species (as opposed to different breeds of dogs, which can really feel quite different). The sussex hen was the easiest to 'get', and so far, the Dutch bantam has been the hardest. Beautiful, but very reserved.

[ariestess]

So pretty! I love how starkly brilliant this hen is against the organic growth of the background.

[hrafn]

:D Yay!

She looks so very stern! Even more than chickens often do.

[moonvoice]

I have the stern-ness of chickens.

[white_rabbit]

WEEE! This is lovely. :) I love the hen against the greens in the background. And also the feathers are wonderful; the hen really pops out because of the smooth whiteness of the rest of her feathers.

[moonvoice]

Thank you! :D

[silverjackal]

I really, really like the background on this. The greens and yellows commingled are somehow both beautiful and very satisfying (? -- sorry, can't explain that one). I also love the chessboard-intricacy of the hen's feathers.

I also don't want to barge into a conversation, but I noticed your response about the dog breeds. When you have time could you elaborate on that? I'm very curious (predictably!).

[moonvoice]

A lot of dogs feel very 'doggish,' but I've met a few which felt as different as say... cats feel to dogs. The first was a borzoi rescue that I knew for a few years, a while ago, which felt like it's own species. And the second was a basenji (basenji are ridiculously common in Western Australia). Though that said, there's generally more variation between dogs than the hen species I've met in pesron and in totem work. Cats are less diverse too, generally. I mean, there are differences between individuals and some breeds, it's just - some of those differences aren't quite so radical.

[silverjackal]

I wonder why the borzoi was so very different -- I would expect them to class in with other sighthounds such as greyhounds in "feel". As for the basenji, that's not a surprise. They are such unique dogs that they could conceivably split off into a separate species if they were sufficiently isolated. Have you tried getting a feel for some of the other very unique/primitive breeds? I'm wondering how they would fall on a continuum -- say, with Nordic breeds at one end, and scent hounds or toy breeds at the other, and a few very unusual things in between (like the New Guinea Singing Dogs, or the Chinese Chongquin). Not that I'm proposing you make such an experiment! It's just interesting to contemplate.

And I can readily see where "cats are cats". Even amongst different species, the Felidae seem more strongly stamped with universal "catness" than the Canidae "dogness". The plasticity of the domestic dog genome alone is actually shocking if you think about it! Thanks for answering my entirely digressive question. :)

[moonvoice]

The borzoi was a rescue, and lived a very reclusive, strange life. I imagine being a sighthound, and a damaged dog (I don't think it was benign neglect), separated him a great deal from any other dog I'd met up until that point. He was a very strange creature, but I loved him. I haven't met any other primitive breeds really, outside of the basenji, aside from dingoes.

I feel like I'm missing one as well (one of the dogs I've personally met that has influence my feelings about this). The plasticity of the dog genome is really remarkable.

[shimmerhawk]

I just love the color scheme in this one with that splash of red right in the middle. It's so fun to see how these turn out.

[moonvoice]

Thank you. :D

[spider_fox]

I dunno if I mentioned this before, but your hen pictures have come at the right time. I've been thinking about your Opalescent Rooster picture for a while, but as beautiful as roosters are, it's the hen that I keep eating all the time as my main source of meat.

So I've been hoping for you to create beautiful hen pictures someday that I could hang in a future kitchen to honor them a bit, and my wish has been granted.

Can I ask why hens? Did someone commission them or were they out of the blue on your own time?

[moonvoice]

The hens were a request, someone requested domestic chicken (my latest request list for totems went out on Facebook). And then because I liked the energy so much, I decided to do four. :)

[spider_fox]

One for each side of the house :)

One more art question, and I know you answered this a couple of times before, but I couldn't find or remember it. Do you make any actual money off of prints and the like through DA or no?

[spider_fox]

Asking because I want your art, but I don't want to spend money on something that isn't going to you.

[moonvoice]

Well, I make more than if I didn't offer prints at all; but the percentage isn't that much. That said, I'm always happy for people to order prints. The quality is really quite good, and yay for prints! :D The only downside is they're not personally signed. :/

[spider_fox]

Thanks for explaining. I'm sure it's an old question by now, but it's been a while and I couldn't remember what you said.