The Hobbit Coop

Doesn't this painting just make you happy when you look at it?   Meet 9 year old "N".  Proud owner of a chicken named Badger (front left)  and a painter with a vision!   When we first started creating our plan, she knew she specifically wanted a "hobbit-style" chicken coop.  I was unaware these existed but was glad to be exposed to this new style of chicken residence.  Isn't it adorable?   "N" wanted a colorful painting, with flowers, rocks, and, of course, chickens.   I think we merged her imaginative vision with this painting pretty well!

"N" worked on a medium sized painting and started with her background sky, which is always a good way to begin.     The first day with a medium to large painting is actually tiring for a kiddo.   It is a lot of canvas to fill!

Here is "N" dotting in the clouds.  Next she moved to the grass, and used some blending to create value.

Now I had her begin to add texture to the grass.   Yep, this was tiring!   Way to hang in there "N"!  Who knew painting was a work-out?!

Next up we worked on the first layer of her sunflowers, and the hobbit coop.

Lines for the wood.

Then we worked on the sunflowers, and the roof and window details.

Q-Tip for the flower centers, and the ramp.

Session 1 complete!   Nice work "N"!  Look at that smile of happiness (and slight relief!  ha ha!)

Session 2:
Today we began more detailing of the hobbit house and worked on shading the coop as well.  "N" was a wonderful student.   I was very impressed with her steady hand!  She has great fine motor abilities for a 7 year old which came in very handy for the detailing of this project.  Painting accurately is not as easy as it may seem, even for adults!

Next up was the bushes and then the rocks.  I gave her a few options of paint colors and then explained ways to use color and shading to distinguish one rock from another.   She did SO WELL!

I knew that the chicken was what she REALLY wanted to work on tonight, so we made sure to get time for that.   She felt more comfortable with me giving her a painted tracing to fill in, so that is what we did first.  Then we worked on the gray feathers by using patterned dotted lines.   This part was so exciting for both of us.  We could see the chicken COME ALIVE!

Then the red and the legs!

And finally, before our session ended, "N" dotted in some flowers by the coop!

WHEW!  What a productive session!   "N" all we have is a couple more chickens and some final details and then it leaves my house and you get to enjoy it (always bittersweet.)

JUST. WOW!

 Session 3:   This would be our last meeting time!   "N" was always so much fun to paint with!  She has such an easy going personality and was so talkative and excited to create.   I was looking forward to this session so much!  To see her, and to see how the final painting would turn out!   First off, we added more greens behind our sunflowers to give the horizon line a more natural look.   Then, we detailed the flowers by the coop.   You can also see a white chicken by the coop.   The shape was painted by me so she could have a base and see where she would add in the paint colors for her 3rd chicken because it was so similar in shades to the coop itself.

 Here you can see how "N" added in flowers in the background to fill the canvas.  Small dots and then medium ones between the small and large.  The results looked great!

 She also put in little blades of grass by the rocks and sunflower field.  Details! Details!

 And now, those chickens!   The one by the coop was done in iridescent colors which don't show on the photo, but look great live!   So fun!

And, the grand finale, "N's" very own chicken, Badger, right in the front.  She said, "WOW!  Badger is so hard to paint!"   So true "N"!  But you did such a great job.  Again, this girl is 7!  And the small detailing of Badger's feathers alone amazed me.  She was so careful and also did a great job of remember techniques from the previous weeks.  

 Look at how she was able to outline the feathers in black.   So impressive!

She knew just the right shape for those tail feathers!  After the feet, she added a few feather outlines to the black tail, and Badger was complete!

WOW!

Finally, "N" chose out some fun colors for butterflies.  She used a q-tip to dot in wings and then a very small brush to outline and detail them.   There is one on each side of the coop.

 (That sleeve was SO pesky today!)

What can I say?   This painting is so colorful and vibrant!  It is incredibly detailed for a 7 year old as well!   "N"'s love of art intermixed with her listening skills and abilities created a pretty amazing outcome.   "N", you were great company, and a terrific student!   Enjoy your painting!   I sure enjoyed helping you create it!