Quiet Hen

Noise proves nothing.  Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid.

Mark Twain, Following the Equator (1897)

No asteroid under this chicken.  Since my last post, I finished her with oil all over, but for the exterior I mixed some titanium white artist-oil color with flax oil.  This quieted the grain of the alder wood that was also a bit blotchy in color.    By playing with the ratio of oil in the paint, different degrees of translucence can be achieved.  I allowed the grain to come through a little more strongly than the last hen I carved, but she’s still rather hushed.

The color also provides a nice contrast for the red of the crest.  And under her is an egg, not an asteroid.

The foot is egg-shaped.  The piece is a little over 12 inches long.