What if I painted 100 chicken portraits?

At this stage, it is purely a thought experiment.  There's about a 2% chance of it becoming a reality.  

But I love doing these as it's good brain exercise.


The premises:
1. I'm learning how to draw and paint.  
2. I find it hard to draw or paint something I'm not passionate about.
3. I find it easy to draw or paint chickens because I love them so much and each chicken has their own personality and idiosyncrasy.
4. I believe that the best way for me to learn to paint is to paint a lot of paintings.

The idea:
What if I got really good at painting one thing?  Paint it in different ways and different variations of that thing.  Then the skills I learn painting that one thing will transfer to painting in general (from experience, this is a really good method for me to learn)

To get good at something, I got to do a lot of it.  So what if I threw out a crazy number into the universe and said "I am going to paint 100 chickens!"  

What if I did it in (a little over) a year?

Right now, I'm slow at painting and painting one chicken portrait every few days.  To paint 100 in a year, that would be two a day   two a week.


WHY?!?
because painting is fun.  Chickens are fun.  

From another side of things, I'm using art to help heal some other issues in my health.  

I like becoming better at stuff.


That reminds me of a conversation I had yesterday.  I went to a corner and started sketching a roof and tree to calm myself down.  Nothing beautiful.  It's kind of the ugly nature of the roof that was interesting to me and the way the branches put light and shadow on the roof (I want to get better at dappled light).  A kid saw me painting and was very excited.  Asked me questions.  So we chatted.  When I said "I'm not very good yet" the mother got angry and corrected me.  "One should never say that to a child!".  

(my response may not have been appropriate - but I was trying to de-people/stimuli and I tend to get quite blunt when I'm over-peopled - thus the need to de-people.)

"Why not?  I'm not good yet.  But that's fine.  I don't have to be good at something to enjoy it.  And besides, it's through practising that I improve my skills."


Imagine a good segway back to the chicken topic here.


The point is, I don't have a reason to want to do this except to see if I can.





What's stopping me?

a. I have some lovely student-grade paints right now, but they aren't very light-fast.  Great for learning.  Not great for sharing.  And that's a big problem, what would I do with 100 chicken portraits?  Share them of course.  But for that, I would want better paints.

b. I'm not sure I currently have enough paints to paint 100 paintings.  

c. I know I don't have enough paper to paint 100 paintings (I've got about 30 sheets right now and we also need paper for practice).  If I'm sharing with people, I would want good quality paper.  

d. I don't have enough chickens - I've only got about 50 chickens right now.  Although I could paint the same chicken twice, I kind of want to paint 100 DIFFERENT chickens so I can get to know the different personalities more.  

That leaves us with public domain or stock photos as the next option.  The first I don't trust, the second costs money.  Neither comes with a story.  The story is a big part of what interests me in the chicken and helps me paint it.  I feel connected to the chicken, it's easy to paint.  It would involve asking the community for 50 chicken photos and stories.  

e. Documenting the painting process - I can film and do basic photos, but would need to learn more about how to take high-quality images to turn them into something like prints.  But I like the idea of documenting it so people can cheer me on.

f. a lot of the paintings won't turn out perfect.  Especially at the start.  Realism and hyperrealism doesn't interest me (I have a camera for that).  But I don't have a style yet so I would be playing with different styles.  Some of them won't turn out well.

g. It looks like I would need a way to find this project.  More specifically - this project would need to be self-funding.  Making that work would be way harder than painting 100 chickens.  


What would the cost look like?
Doing this in Canadian dollars - it's a rough estimate before tax and shipping

Paper is easy.
I'm extremely fond of paul rubens watercolour cold press block  It's about 10x7 inches and just perfect for a chicken.  So far, it's the nicest texture and absorbancy I've tried.  I'm also very fond of blocks for convenience's sake.  This listing has 40 sheets for $40 and would be considered medium to low-grade paper at a dollar a sheet.  Better quality paper runs between $2-10 per sheet this size.

Let's say paper = $100-200

Paints are harder to price as I haven't tried a lot of different professional-grade paints.  

If lightfastness wasn't an issue, I would probably use handmulled paints from a local artist (using local materials).  These are by far my favourite so far and probably are light fast, just not tested.  

Then again, if we aren't worrying about lightfastness, then student grade paints would do.  I would probably need to buy a few more tubes of my 6 most used colours.

Let's say paint = $60-400 with it most likely settling about $120

Brushes - I need at least one moppy soppy brush with a good tip (that was $35 in the local shop) and something with a very fine tip (another $30)

I don't know if my current brushes would wear out or need replacing.  So let's round this up to $100 for brushes.

Shipping the paintings to people who provided a photo and story is expensive - especially shipping them so the paintings don't get damaged.  
- I don't know what this cost would be but it would have to be taken into account before we start as it's not just the shipping, it's the extra cost of the envelope to protect the painting from both folding and water damage in transit.  Sometimes a difference of 2mm can change these cost by $5 or $20 dollars (as I found out when I was choosing what size to make my book - size matters).

Whatever this ends up costing x 50+.




It's a thought experiment.  These numbers are starting places at regular prices.  I'll put a watch on camelcamelcamel.com for deals.  

Mostly I just wanted to put this out in writing and see how I feel about it in a few days.  And I'm putting it out here to see what other people feel about this too.  



This would be a good place to put a sounding board.



Note, if you have PIE, you can vote for more than one item (or twice for the same one).  

Current chicken portrait count is 2


The more I think about this, the more I love the idea of using responsibly sourced paints made by a local maker using mostly local and locally sourced materials.  

Got to price out what that would be.  

$64 (before tax and shipping) for 6 paints (bought at the same time)

I would probably want a starting of 12-18 paints.  Then again, I do like collecting the set, which I think is 24 colours...
And some would get used up - probably 6 more to get.  

eeek!  I don't want to do that math.

But I do like the way the paints behave and they match my values.  

Yes!

You have all the important parts lined out...the parameters and focus.

The passion and all of the ingredients that meet your values.

And you've already begun!

I do love your chicken portraits...we see your heart in them

I also want to mention when I do these thought experiments,  the budget is for replacement materials and doesn't account for what is already at hand.

I think I'm just going to paint some with what I have and see where it goes.  

1. Lens Cap (as a chick)




This makes a great baseline to see if or how I improve as I paint more chickens.  

I love this idea. And it would be especially neat if you could have them all together on display as a single project.

I think telling a kid that you're not very good yet is perfectly fine. Hiding the real world and presenting the illusion that we're always satisfied with our performance is pretty sketchy to me. And it's also OK for kids (or adults) to do a thing because it's fun, not because they're good at it. This reminds me of the Picasso quote: “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

r ranson wrote:Right now, I'm slow at painting and painting one chicken portrait every few days.  To paint 100 in a year, that would be two a day.

100 in a year would give you 3.65 days per painting. Two a day for a year would result in 730 paintings.

Could you paint neighbor chickens, especially once you're a little faster?

Christopher Weeks wrote:

r ranson wrote:Right now, I'm slow at painting and painting one chicken portrait every few days.  To paint 100 in a year, that would be two a day.

100 in a year would give you 3.65 days per painting. Two a day for a year would result in 730 paintings.

Could you paint neighbor chickens, especially once you're a little faster?

Thank you so much.
I like your numbers much better.  


Most of the neighbours gave up on chickens and just get our eggs instead.  Apparently, they taste better?  

looking closer at mailing costs.

A stiff envelope for letter size paper is between $1-2 each.  Less if I buy more than 50.


Size limit for oversize letter mail (when posted from Canada) is 380 mm x 270 mm x 20 mm (14.9 inches x 10.6 inches x 0.8 inches)

If memory serves, sending this size via letter mail is about $5-6 within Canada and less than $12 to the USA.  About the same internationally.  

This doesn't include tax, fuel surcharge, and other charges (like holiday rush and quiet season charges) that the post office enjoys giving us.

There are likely permies who would happily share a chicken picture for you to paint; and likely a story to go with it. I don't have chickens or I would be the first to contribute. This would help with avoiding open source or purchased chicken pictures and allow you to paint 100 different chickens.

The more I think about this project,  the more I want to make it happen.

There are more logistics to work on,  like documentation,  funding,  etc.   But I feel like it's worth investing more time into figuring this out.

Deadline for the 100 chooks would be end of year,  2024.

I added an apple pole pool poul voting thingy to the first post

Your project sounds delightful! You will learn so much about yourself by doing the project…deadlines, supplies organization, prioritizing, where to dry all these beautiful paintings, how to store them to maintain their integrity…

I wish you much joy and success!

If you need pictures of chickens and their backstories, just holler!

-Paint 100 chickens
-Take pictures
-Write descriptions
-Sell as a data set to train AI models
-Profit
-Generate infinite chickens

I vote yes, paint 100 chickens, but if it’s not fun anymore or you have another inspiration to move you forward, or you want to take a break, then at that point, I vote for you to follow the new inspiration.

And, on the topic of saying you aren’t very good at painting YET, I can’t think of a better thing to say to a child.

It models all kinds of constructive skills for a child…. especially one who only hears grown ups trying to pretend everything is already perfect.  😊

Should I ask the local chicken lady ?  She also has ducks, turkey, geese and sells their eggs.   Good excuse to talk more to them about permies.com

Mrs Brown..
11 years old
Americana
Still lays 5 eggs a week.

It's a good idea. So I voted 'yes'.
I hope you do have the time to make 100 chicken portraits (and more, as practice).
I do not have chickens myself, otherwise I would have sent you photos of them (and stories). And I don't have a way to pay money from here to Canada (or the USA), sorry.

Ideas:

If your goal is to practice then, could you get some canvas and reuse portraits by painting over them?  Maybe whitewash between paintings or remove the paint.

If you paint only the canvas or paper, you could roll it up and send it in a tube and the recipient can mount/frame it.

Buy brushes only when needed.

Send me a PM..
I have extra paintbrushes and would love to sponsor a painting.

So.. since this is the time of year when all old hens go to freezercamp.
Let me tell you a story.

When Mrs Brown. Or 'B' ..was 3 years old, she semi retired.
2 maybe 3 eggs a week.
So I got some quail and she happily hopped into their cage and ate their food.
Within 5 days, she was back to full-time laying 5-6 days a week.
I haven't bought chicken food since.
16% is the bare minimum industry has found that a chicken in a cube cage requires to continue producing eggs to a culling age.
23% or 25% Game bird or Turkey food will keep them producing long past the commercial flock re-tred times.

Granted.. B has a very optimal life.
She does have her night perch on a baby blanklet on top of the dresser.
In the morning she asks to be put down, eats a snack and has a drink, poops a couple of times then jumps up on my bed, kicks the blankets into a nest and goes back to sleep.
My naptime she snuggles up and tucks her head under my arm and purrs..
Protected by the Mama bird.

Every molt time she takes an extra week off on vacation every year but has no interest in retiring yet.
She is 11 and a half.

I have enough B stories to fill volumes but I'll just put one here.
Don't want to co-opt your art thread.

There are several things I have learned from 1 on 1 daily exposure with a chicken.
I had a knee operation several years back.
Gently placed my knee on a pillow and laid back with a groan.
She very carefully jumped up beside me and very carefully climbed on top of the bandage and settled down right over the incision.
She started to hum.. like a hen does to her eggs on the nest.
After about an hour she very gently climbed off and did her cuddle for a nap thing.
Just like a cat's purr, a hen's hum has a healing frequency.
She insisted on a daily treatment before we had naptime for months.
She will still notice if I'm limping and insist on doing it a few years later..
Always gets the right knee, and gets really cranky if we are interrupted.
It's not just the frequency but the time and body heat.
So.. if your old hens jump up to sit on your lap..
Pay attention.. and rest those arthritic hands on them.
Let them care for you and enjoy them into their senior years.

I'm starting chicken number 5 today.  He's all black  but the feathers shimmer pastels of green,  red,  purple,  blue,  and pink.  I don't know how to paint this, so I'm doing some sample paintings first.  

The more I think about this project,  the more it gives me joy.  But I need to speed up if I want to get finished in a reasonable time. Maybe soon, I won't feel such a strong need to sample first.

What is the painting word for make a sample painting to try new techniques?

I think it's the same as in fiber arts - swatching. But, I'm not sure, so take that with a grain of salt.

r ranson wrote:I'm starting chicken number 5 today.  He's all black  but the feathers shimmer pastels of green,  red,  purple,  blue,  and pink.  I don't know how to paint this, so I'm doing some sample paintings first.  

The more I think about this project,  the more it gives me joy.  But I need to speed up if I want to get finished in a reasonable time. Maybe soon, I won't feel such a strong need to sample first.

What is the painting word for make a sample painting to try new techniques?

As far as I know if you try a technique, or colours, the samples are called 'swatches' (yes, the same as in fiber arts). If you make small drawings to try different compositions, they are called 'thumbnails'. English is such an international language ... I don't even know the Dutch words for these things!

I have always heard "thumbnails" for composition/layout, do I want a tree there or not? Does this bridge want to arch this steep or that steep?
When I paint I test an odd technique on a scrap before I do it, but I don't have a word for it.

What about posting your chicken painting and their stories online. For purchase. As a download.
This way your  chicken paintings can be enjoyed by multiple people. As are their stories.
I personally would love to see the pictures. And most of all your progress. You are so enthusiastic and open.
Thank you for sharing your roadtrip with us.

r ranson wrote:What is the painting word for make a sample painting to try new techniques?

The word that first popped into my mind was maquette, but apparently that's limited to three dimensional works. Modello seems to be the correct word for a painting.

Raven,
I think this a fantastic idea!
So much so I began scheming how to fund it, and I don't know, but I like this better than your calendars I invested in in the past. 😉
Paul Wheaton loves to promote permies through Kickstarter projects, he's at what? 13? 14?
Anyway I had thought I would love to help finance your dream, but I am recovering from an accident a year ago. I can still give voice to ideas here.
.
I was thinking maybe Paul could do a Kickstarter fundraiser with your project, your actual costs plus 50%
Maybe a big hatchery or chicken producer could fund it, with permission to use the chicken portraits.
I like the idea of the Kickstarter and how they reward backer's.
Going by your numbers, what would each portrait cost? $30-40 dollars? I don't know, but with a Kickstarter the shipping cost varies by country so it is added to the backer's investment.
.
I like the idea of you creating a blog/podcast to keep track of your learning process.
I like the idea of the chickens being on a postcard, a coffee table book, maybe an animated something or other.
.
Every year lately Kickstarter has done a Maker 100, where individuals can have a small project with 100 backer's. I think this could be much bigger than 100 backers.
.
I knew a Ebay artist that would record herself painting a painting and commenting about it. She would post the painting on eBay with the video and let the bidding begin. I bought one, I don't remember what it went for a couple hundred dollars I believe. They were unique.
.
Human interest stories are what feeds the news, your project has that. I love the idea of depeopling.

I forgot to mention, that girl that did the ebay paintings also would sell prints of the paintings.
And I meant to mention the drawings, whether in pencil or charcoal, etc could be part of your rewards if you did a Kickstarter.
I remember seeing a pencil sketch by Picasso that was reportedly worth $10,000

R Ranson, it sounds  like you've got you 'chickens' in a row. You know what you want to do. You are comfortable evaluating your skill level and determining your next steps. My best advice would be to just relax and let the art form take you where you want to go and enjoy the journey rather than focusing on the destination...When you get comfortable with your painting skills, maybe branch out into other hobbies/interests that can incorporate your painting passion. (like wood carving)
I too love to paint and I love to carve. Sooo, I sometimes paint my wood carvings just to accentuate them.
Best wishes for your continued painting success! Please keep the pictures coming

I love the make a 100 thing on Kickstarter and have supported a few.  

None of them came through and I think that's because they hadn't started yet.  With Kickstarter you want to be about 90% finished because there will always be 'comedy' that makes that last 10% twice as much work as the first 90%.  

It's also horribly stressful to run a kickstarter.


The thing that really gets me is the fees.  People see all that money coming in and they don't realize that the fees gobble up 20-40% of that number.  Kickstarter fees, payment processing fees, bank fees, taxes on that income...

I'm going to keep the Kickstarter idea in my head as a possibility.  It's also where I got the number 100 from in case I do want to go that path.

A more interesting path I'm exploring is to make a private forum here on permies and journal each chicken painting there.  Post each chicken story and the details about the paints and all the pictures.  

Then set up a digital market item of a one time payment of a couple of dollars that will go towards supplies and people who feel like joining in can have access to that private forum.  I can also share the painting adventure in a minimal way on the main forums.  That way people have a choice of how they interact with the project.  


By doing it via the permies digital market, any fees go directly to keeping permies up and running and the fees here are very small.  

I absolutely LOVE this idea!!!

Honestly, based on the picture shown in your post, I think you are getting "good" at it even if you may not be as good as you'd like to be yet.

I don't see any problem with saying something like that to a child though. Aside from the fact that some parents seem to think they need to present a view of the world through rose tinted lenses to their children, the only potential issue I can see is if she thought her child would think they weren't doing well at painting either if they weren't *at least* as good as you (and apparently better, since you weren't good yet). But if that was the issue, it could have easily been taken care of by the mother simply telling the child that you had a vision of how good you wanted to be and you weren't there yet - and that is a good thing, because it keeps us improving, but each of us also has to start off somewhere and not producing the same quality as some other person doesn't mean we aren't doing well. Comparing ourselves to others in that way generally doesn't end well anyway, but we can look to others we see who are better - because there will ALWAYS be those who are better than us - and draw inspiration from them, aspire to be more like them, and become motivated by them.



But anyway, back to the main topic:


I don't have the budget today to feel comfortable saying I would pay for a picture, so I voted for the one that just says please paint my chicken. Depending on the costs though, and when you'd need it, I might be willing to pay - I would like to support this, we're just on a tight budget at the moment and it just changed so we're figuring it out a bit. At the very least, I'm pretty sure we could manage the shipping costs though. I haven't discussed it with my wife, but if it was just the shipping costs and we're not in a super pinched place, I think she'd really appreciate it as a surprise or even a birthday or anniversary or mother's day gift...

We had a really sweet rooster several years ago before we had to get rid of all of our chickens and move that I bet she'd appreciate if I could find a good picture of him. Otherwise I could probably take a picture of one of our new ones, though we don't have nearly as many now as we used to it would still be fun.


I think it is cool how you mentioned that each chicken truly is unique and so that is part of what makes it so fun for you to paint them. I'm curious how well that will carry over if you are painting other people's chickens, but maybe if they share a story about it and then combined with the idea of doing it for that particular person will make it unique in that way even though you don't know that specific chicken like you know your own.

Regardless though, I am excited to see the outcome of this as well as the progress that you make along the way.


I think a couple people have already mentioned the potential of selling digital prints.

Another thought is putting them together in some kind of book? Like a coffee table book or something? I don't know how many people would be interested in that kind of thing, but I feel like some probably would buy it; and it would be an interesting way to see all 100 paintings all together (probably in order?) to demonstrate the progression, the experimentation, and hopefully the improvement and the eventual development towards your own personal style.  Perhaps include a little story with each painting assuming you got permission from each of the people who shared their chicken pictures - though that would also require you writing 50 stories to go along with each of your own chickens... Anyway, just a thought.

Raven,
I never realized what a money pit Kickstarter was.
.
It's your project, don't let myself or any others steer it in a direction you don't want it to go.
.
Make sure you include links here to wherever you share the project.
.
Maybe a GoFundMe, or a PayPal link for donations. I just had a few extra dollars show up that I had not expected.
Mike
Others should continue with their ideas, a forum is a great place to share and plot....

best to follow inspiration. start with what you have. if you build it they will come (paint, paper, photos of friends' chickens, money) we so not have to know every step before we begin...just the first one.

I set up a digital market item for those who would like to join in the fun.  

I'm rather hopeful that this would be enough funding for the project, especially when I consider the other sources of funding I have available (like digital market affiliate income and the like).

I love your painting. I will send you a picture of my favorite chicken. Maybe two. Do the math and I will send you some money.
Holly Jones

Oh do I have some storied and photographed chickens to share with you. I would pay you to paint my chicken. This is a delightful pursuit.

I am accepting chicken submissions.  More information here
https://permies.com/t/226512/chicken-fan-club

Yesterday was not a very good day. I was fighting a rather nasty cold and I had a doctor's appointment that was about 3 1/2 hours from my home. Mind you, I don't travel too well on my best days let alone ones like yesterday. Anyways, between the trip, the appointment, the weather, and the state of the world in general I needed a pick me up. You provided it. I really enjoyed watching you paint (with the assistance of your little helper). Thank you for cheering me up. Sometimes life just gets you down. It is the things like what you are attempting to accomplish that make it worth continuing on. You gave me (and my wife and 3 grandchildren by the way) a very pleasant way to start the day. I am more than happy to support your endeavor and my family and extended family are looking forward to seeing more of the finished product. Jeff