White Stars

These two girls are 'white star' chickens, and have beautiful white feathers. They also lay beautiful white eggs. There's nothing they like more than sitting down and enjoying the sun, and this is the best time to grab a pencil and sketch them. I know the hen lying down looks a bit odd, mainly because she has a big floppy comb! I simply had to include it, as it gives her so much character.
I always struggle to paint white subjects as I usually do not include a coloured background. However the shadowing on the feathers is a wonderful shade of blue, so this is the easiest way to outline and add depth to the hen. I do think I could have improved the painting slightly by adding a warm cream or yellow colour, to give the impression of sunlight illuminating the feathering.

In other news, this Friday I will be submitting four paintings to the annual SWLA exhibition at the Mall Galleries. Fingers crossed that my images make it through the judging process to the final show on the 22nd of September.