Why did the turkeys cross the road?

Because that's where the chickens are hanging out. Our neighbours have turkeys, and every year there are more of them. The baby turkeys are seriously the cutest things I've ever seen. Unlike baby chickens, they are sturdy little things with solid legs. They grow fast, too! From fluffy little bundles you'd love to see in an Easter basket, to funny-looking creatures that remind me of the old Marvin the Martian cartoons, and then to regal adulthood. The wild ones are the prettiest, to my mind, with their grey and black feathers tipped with iridescence. The domestics are their plain cousins, I suppose. The chicks (or is that "turks?") in this painting are now cross-bred as a result of a new tom turkey. There's some domestic in that boy's background! Yellow chicks are NOT a common sight in our neighbourhood. 

This painting is an oil on canvas, and is only in its beginning stages. Much more to do! Patience is required to work this stuff. It takes forever to dry (smells bad, too!), and since I'm using water-soluble oil paints, they move differently. I didn't buy a huge variety of colours, as I'm not sure how much work I'll be doing with this medium. It's a start, but wow... what pink legs the big girl has! I'll be toning that down somewhat with the next layer. :D

Coco the Beagle. Progress pix

My latest commission is a graphite pencil drawing of a beagle who has passed on.

He's coming along nicely, but there's still so much to do! I've gotten as high as a B pencil, but I still have to work up to at least a 4B before I'm done. And as of March 3rd, I'm still working on his body. Building the layers one pencil level at a time.

I'm not going to post this publicly until AFTER I get permission from she-who-commissioned-me. It's a birthday gift, and we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now, would we?!

This is the original photograph...

And here's how he's coming along... 

Needing to boost the darks on the coat, bring the dog forward from the background and bring his face forward from his body. Loving it!!! 

Coco is about 98% done. I'm just going to "look" at him for a few more days, tweaking here and there.

Coco

I'm just waiting for she-who-commissioned the drawing to come over and view it. The weather hasn't been cooperative, what with the unexpected (for me) blizzard yesterday! We've got big puffy snowflakes falling today. With any luck, that's all that will fall. Keeping my fingers crossed!