Kippen 1876 - 1951

This is Kippen, a pencil drawing on paper by Theo Nieuwenhuis. It's not dated but seeing all these chickens together makes me think about art-making as a process, like a warm-up exercise where the artist gets their eye in. The paper is a pale, warm colour, and the pencil lines are soft and grey. It’s quick and economical. He suggests rather than describes the birds and there is so much variety in their poses. Take the chicken in the lower right corner. It is one of the most defined and there are two small circular marks that create an eye and give real character to the bird. You can see how the artist is working things out as he goes. The beauty of this piece is in its simplicity and its spontaneity. It reminds me of other artists who love to draw animals, like Franz Marc, or even Picasso and his doves. It is proof that art is always in conversation with itself.