Creekside Chickens ~ year two

Sketched using a Faber-Castell PITT artist pen in cool grey with a brush tip,
Daniel Smith watercolors, in an India Handmade Hand•Book watercolor journal,  8x16 full spread size

 On Sunday, July 7th the MetroSketchers group met in the backyard of Sophie and Chris near Minnehaha Park to draw their small flock of chickens for a second year.  This year they have new chickens, a flock of six that they got as one day old chicks back in April, one of which was a rooster by mistake, which was being relocated to a small farm after we sketched that afternoon.  It was a typically hot July afternoon and the chickens were not very social, in terms of mingling with sketchers in the yard.  For most of the afternoon they huddled together in a small corner at the back, forcing us to all be grouped in and around said corner at the back to better see the chickens.

Sketched using a Faber-Castell PITT artist pen in cool grey with a brush tip,
Daniel Smith watercolors, drawn over the top with a Faber-Castell calligraphy pen in black,
in an India Handmade Hand•Book watercolor journal,  8x16 full spread size

 I got to the event about a half hour late, after a few quick chicken gestures and seeing that the chickens were staying put in terms of location, I decided to sit on the back steps and sketch a portion of my view.  Chris and Sophie really have a lovely backyard, with hanging baskets, lights, small sculptures, and flower beds.  They also had about twenty or so people in lawn chairs quietly sketching, so even not drawing chickens, there was plenty to draw.
By about two-fifteen most of the sketchers were starting to be hot and restless and Sophie was bringing out some refreshments and the chickens saw this as the perfect time to begin moving through the yard.  I guess after seeing us sit quietly in chairs for over two hours they decided we were safe to mingle with after all.  From my perch at the back steps I was able to finally sketch a trio of the chickens.  I was also able to snap a couple of photos for use as reference later.  It was one of those reference photos that I used to finish the part of a sketch that I got of Horatio, the rooster, later that afternoon at home to finish the spread in my journal.
I am currently working my way through a journal that I impulse bought while waiting for a friend in an art supply store.  I am nearly finished and will post my thoughts on the book, because I have many, in a later post.  For now let's just say that this book has been a frustrating learning experience and just when I thought I had made peace with it and its paper, I turned the page and drew chickens and began to paint and discovered that these next few sheets are completely different from the rest of the book that I am just over halfway through using.
Right now let me just say that two important lessons are already becoming evident as I use this book.  Lesson one: don't ever impulse buy a book because it looks interesting while waiting for a friend.  Lesson two: I make my own books for a very real reason.