Description
I spent summers on my grandparent’s farm in South Georgia shelling butter beans, picking off peanuts, husking corn, filling up corn silos, exploring abandoned barns, and caring for their enormous collection of farm animals.
While my grandfather would spend his days in the field I would convince my grandmother she needed me to help with the animals. One of their farm animals was the Rhode Island Red breed that I based this painting on. While I wasn’t slopping the hogs, mucking out stalls, or saying my final goodbyes to a never ending stream of brown barn rats, I was caring for a ginormous rooster. While I started out referring to this chicken simply as “Red”, my grandmother worked to convince me he was actually Ace Cluck who was once referred to as “Chicken Little”.
For years on end she regaled me with stories of how he was before I ever knew he existed. She told me countless accounts of how the other chickens abused and bullied him. She told me of how he was shy because of the others constantly pecking at his ever declining ego. She also told me about the regretful incident, infamous book, and Disney doing a movie about that tiny incident in his life. However, as you can see, Ace Cluck grew up!
I did this painting thinking about the lives of many kids today. Constantly bullied both overtly and covertly. Treated unfairly so their detractors can garner a laugh or appear “cool” to their so called clique. Bullied by kids who in 20 years will regret their behavior and actions. Today however the bullying is very real. The acceptance from peers is so real that a lot of times a child’s actions doesn’t line up with who they are. Those are the children I did this painting for. It’s simply a reminder that they, like “Chicken Little”, will both grow up and be called “boss” by those that they were once bullied by.
