The good news is that the sun is out! It's remarkable how how relatively warm 27 degrees and full-on sun feels after teen temps and cloudy days of never-ending precipitation.
I needed crampons this morning to feed and water the chickens. Poor things were sliding all over the place, trying to grab a beak full of fodder before sliding down the incline (bobsled track) to the other side of the fenced in (frozen) chicken utopia that is their quarters and surrounds.
They are indeed spoiled chickens (as opposed to buttered chickens) but they feed us, so i'm happy to indulge them. Eggs aside, they also help our family waste less. Today, for instance, they noshed on a warm pile of cooked dry goods that were very expired in the pantry.
I had a cup of faro, wheat noodles, lentils, and whatever else had been opened two+ years ago that would never make it to our table. Our daughter, Lilly (14) cooked it up then bravely took it out. The hens really liked the faro!
Today I was able to get some smoothing/shading done and add another layer in the background on Blessed Vessel. Tomorrow, I will be applying the Payne's Grey glazing that I did on the companion piece. Then Thursday, I'll use the fixative to lock in the charcoal before adding copper leaf, creating a modern icon.
Here's a peek of today's progress:
Thank you for stopping by and stay tuned for some metallic!