Chicken painting, watercolor chicken by Donna Ridgway

I believe she's looking at a tasty bug. She seems very intent, and she doesn't care at the moment if her feathers are a little mussed. She's about to strike and let that bug slide right down her throat!

I didn't know I would enjoy painting chickens as much as I do.

I used to raise at least 50 chickens a year for the meat.  It was a big job butchering them and I didn't like it much but it was kind of necessary to have good meat in the freezer for the year. The part I didn't care for much was that my chickens were my friends along with providing meat.

The kids and I had pets we loved among the laying hens. They'd walk up to us, and wait to be picked up and loved. I miss that about my chickens.

Donna

Black Chicken painting, watercolor on Yupo paper.

Here's a little black chicken. She's going to a new home tomorrow! I'm glad, she's a nice little chicken but someone really wanted her and that is nice.

Donna

White tail doe finished

This did not turn out to be much of a work in progress! The reason for that is because she almost painted herself! I got so involved in painting her, I just didn't think to stop and scan her in the process.  That's the fun of painting, sometimes you get totally lost in it.

Donna

Work in progress painting, watercolor on Yupo paper. First scan.

I'm beginning a painting, watercolor on Yupo paper. A very wary deer! I hope she's going to be adorable, but I never know at this stage of the game.

I'll be making adjustments from here on out....this is the beginning drawing, just putting something down on paper so I have the start of a plan to work with.

She's probably thinking, "Can I trust you or not?"

I'm using a photo for this painting by Crystal Stacey -Feather Edged Photography, from the photos for artists group on Facebook.

I have thousands of photos of my own, but it's so nice to work from someone else's photos also. Thank you to Crystal for making this available for artist's use.

Old Hopeful, portrait of a dog, begging for treats.

Here's to high hopes! Look at this guy. His cheek is full of treats he's gathered, and he's hoping to get at least one more!  

I don't always use my own reference photos, this was painted using a photo that Karen Broemmelsick took with her camera. Using her photo, I kind of exaggerated the size of the ears, and the size of the muzzle to create this dog.

Her photo was wonderful, the expression in the dog's eyes was worth a million bucks! Thank you Karen for making your photo available in the photos for artists group on Facebook.

Sincerely,

Donna Ridgway

Bison, original watercolor painting, wildlife art.

In "real life" this bison was out on the prairie, with the Rocky Mountains behind him.  He was following a cow, and feeling his "Cheerioats"!  I loved the way his fur on his face went this way and that way...it was certainly fun to paint. Their fur (wool?  fiber? fleece?) is so soft, it's like touching a cloud. It's kind of unexpected to know such large, tough, animals can be so soft.

I hope your day is interesting and full of new things!

Donna Ridgway

Original painting of a mule deer, watercolor, wildlife art.

Robert and I were driving near the Dearborn River when I took photos of some mule deer. That was a few years ago, and I just painted this deer from those photos, this month.  Sometimes it takes me a while to get to all my plans. I did like how this deer turned out, it made me happy!

Donna Ridgway