Home to Roost Helping city folks raise chickens!

Digital artist Heide Royer has a thing for chickens. She received her first set of chickens at Christmas 2019 and, chicken math being what it is, she now has a total of 60!

It was only natural that Heide turned to drawing pictures of her birds. “I discovered that chicken people love chicken art,” she said. “I got a great response to the first chicken portraits I did. Now my house looks like a chicken art gallery.” Heide raises her chickens and other animals on a ranch near Weatherford, Texas, appropriately named the “Cock ‘n’ Roll Ranch.”

She calls her electrifying chicken portraits “kinetic art.” Heide starts by sketching the bird, then she moves to a digital tablet to add the kinetic elements, including strokes of digital “electricity.”

“If I look at an animal spiritually, I can see its soul shining out. That is what I attempt to capture in my portraits,” she said.

The response to her artwork has been gratifying and heartwarming. “I found my chicken people,” Heide says. “I feel very, very blessed that I have the chance to create this art for others. In a time when people are losing their jobs, I can bring this joy to them.”

Heide also creates portraits of dogs and other animals, and accepts commissions from pet owners. View her work at Heidinmyworld.com.

Photographer Liz McCrory of Kosmic Studio has embarked on an unusual project that caught our attention here at Home to Roost — portraits of pet chickens!

The Hoffman Estates, IL photographer decided to immortalize people’s birds using the same photographic techniques and equipment she uses with her human subjects. We think the results are quite impressive, presenting these birds as little works of art.

“For this project I wanted to remove chickens from the typical coop setting, and place them in front of a formal backdrop with professional lighting,” Liz explains. “Some of the photos use backdrops I painted myself, and some are composites created after the shoot. My goal was to show the beauty and dignity of these sweet animals.”

Their personalities shine through as well. “I find chickens fascinating–they’re sweet and affectionate, while being somewhat wild at the same time. I recently learned that birds evolved directly from dinosaurs, and I love to look at their fierce eyes and reptilian feet and picture a tiny dinosaur looking back at me,” Liz said.

If you would like your favorite hen or rooster immortalized in a portrait, Liz said she would be happy to hear from you at Liz@kosmicstudio.org. 

Liz will be branching out from chickens to include other animals, starting with horses and puppies. You can follow Liz’s photographic journey on Instagram at @lizmccroryphoto.