Illustrating a Carton of Chicken Eggs

Illustrating a Carton of Chicken Eggs post image

In this post I share photo steps in a video showing how I painted a box of chicken eggs.

This series of egg illustrations, painted in watercolor, were part of a commission for a story about eggs, published in the online magazine Life and Thyme  “Cracking the Code -An Exploration of the Incredible, Edible Egg” featuring the humble and ubiquitous egg. This article explores how eggs from different animals are used in diverse cuisines around the world.

  • Chicken eggs account for 90 percent of the world’s egg production, according to the international Egg Commission
  • Duck eggs are popular in eastern cultures including China, The Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They are not as common in the cuisine of western countries.
  • Ostrich eggs measure five inches long, six inches wide, can weigh up to three pounds, and have a shell that’s 4mm thick.
  • Quail eggs are quite small, about the size of a quarter, but have more protein by percentage than a chicken egg.
  • Fish eggs are used in Sushi (roe); and in the form of caviar (sturgeon) is a delicacy that was prized by the ancient Persians and Greeks.
  • Turtle eggs are a delicacy and in such demand by the underground aphrodisiac market that many species are endangered.

I’m not that fond of eggs. When I was a child I was told to eat a soft-boiled egg for breakfast. The egg turned out to be bad–I told my grandmother it tasted funny–and I became violently ill.

Today I can’t stand the thought of eating an egg that isn’t completely cooked. I’ll eat eggs only when hard-boiled or scrambled and well-done. But I do love egg-custard or flan.

What about you? Do you like eggs, and how do you like them prepared?

And then there is fish. As an adult I developed a severe allergy to fish and sea food so I’ve never tasted caviar and I don’t think I ever will. And I used to really love fish, especially shrimp!

What about you? Have you ever had caviar? How would you describe the taste and sensation?

— Layer 1A, Blue background color —
— Layer 1B, Coloring the eggs —
— Layer 2A- Egg Shading —
— Layer 2B, Carton Shading —
— Layer 3, More egg shading and final darker touches —
{ 7 comments… add one }
  • lau January 24, 2019, 4:40 pm

    Thank you

  • Susan January 24, 2019, 8:43 pm

    I love your work.

    • Leyla Torres January 25, 2019, 7:52 am

      Thank you Susan, I hope it is of inspiration to you!

  • Nell January 29, 2019, 5:21 pm

    Thank you!!

  • Kim February 24, 2019, 8:33 am

    Hi Leyla . I tried both the eggs and the chicken. They turned out pretty good. I only did them in my watercolor notebook which is not the best paper, although I used my W&N watercolors. Should I post on my Instagram and tag you? Thank you- love your work! Kim

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