Chicken - Steve's Sketchbook

Friend or Fowl?

A chicken is the latest, rather unlikely entry from Steve’s Sketchbook.

When I was thinking of what to draw next for this series, one of the first things that popped into my brain was a chicken. I really don’t know why. Chickens are always interesting to me. I like to watch them run back and forth. I like to hear them make their noises. They are funny in the ways that they move and sound. And if you look at them in just the right way, they almost look prehistoric, as if they are some of the last survivors of the age of dinosaurs.

Also, I like to eat chickens. Fried chicken, Mexican chicken, chicken casserole, chicken nuggets, chicken pot pie, chicken burritos, and so on. There aren’t too many bad ways to eat chicken. Just don’t tell the chickens that.

We do not have any chickens at our house. One reason is because I’m pretty sure the coyotes around here would agree with the above paragraph about eating chickens. And another reason is that we do not need any more mouths to feed. I do think it would be fun to have some around here sometime, but I don’t really want to add any extra work. So I just enjoy seeing other people’s chickens.

Craziness

Speaking of chickens, when I was growing up, my Mom used to say, “He’s running around like a chicken with his head cut off.” And then she would tell about growing up on the farm and how the chickens would still run around for a while after their heads had been removed. You can sort of tell that chickens don’t have all that much brainpower anyway, but without a brain to guide them, they become even worse, running into things, running all around, not sure what to do, just running.

I would imagine that some people feel that way right now in this COVID-19 crisis. It feels like things are crazy, and it might even feel like we are the chickens with our heads cut off. Does anyone really know what is going on? What should we do next? How long will this last? Are we really safe?

That craziness is a real feeling right now. And it affects many people in varying degrees. So what can you do? Take a deep breath. And then take several more deep breaths. Try to relax. Turn off the news media for a while. Maybe even get away from social media for a while. Read the Bible. Pray. Seek help if you need it. Take care of yourself and your family.

Real, “normal” life used to seem pretty crazy for many people before all of this. But now, many people are looking back at that old crazy as the good times, hoping to return to it. Sometimes, we don’t realize how good things are until we don’t have them.

Until those normal days come back, try to stay calm. Do the best you can. Focus on what is important.

And don’t lose your head.

Bible Verse

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. - Zephaniah 3:17

About the Artwork

For the last few Sketchbook posts, I have been alternating between sketch and painting styles. Does that mean that next week’s will be a painting? I have no idea! I am just waiting for inspiration to strike.

For this one, I had the hardest time getting the chicken’s feet to look right, believe it or not. I lost count of how many times I erased and redrew feet. Chicken feet are more difficult than you might think, at least for me.