bird

Falcons of the World (A collection)

December 7, 2021 — Leave a comment

Notable birds of the Falco genus from around the world. From left to right, top to bottom:

Red-Headed Falcon (Falco chicquera). Found in open grasslands of India and Africa. 

Brown Falcon (Falco berigora). Found in a variety of habitats across Australia. 

Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae) (Dark morph). A nomadic falcon that moves between the Mediterranean and Madagascar. 

Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus). Found along Arctic and subarctic cliffs and coastlines and offshore islands. 

Orange-Breasted Falcon (Falco deiroleucus). Found in tropical and subtropical forests of Central and South America. 

All species maintain a diet composed primarily of birds and occasionally small mammals. Some of the species found in more tropical regions will also feed on insects and reptiles. 

Raptors of the World: Ornate Hawk-Eagle

June 18, 2020 — Leave a comment

Spizaetus ornatus

A medium size eagle found in tropical forests of Central and South America.  Aptly named for its unique coloration and head crest of black feathers.

Prefers to hunt from a perch or high glide in thick tropical forests. The dinner menu for Spizaetus ornatus is a variety of small mammals, birds, and reptiles.

ornate haekeagle processB2

My favorite raptor of South America (There’s some solid competition there too).  I’ve made a few paintings of this one before but until now I feel I hadn’t captured its nuances. Then again having never been on the same continent as one, it’s hard to say. Thank you so much for looking at birds with me.

Raptors of the World: Red-tailed Hawk (juvenile)

October 30, 2019 — Leave a comment

I’ve painted plenty of adult Red-tailed Hawks and wanted to do a panel painting of a first year hawk. Even more specifically a light morph. Red-tailed hawks don’t gain their namesake red tail feathers until their second and even sometimes third year.

This was painted on a panel that’s been used for a few different paintings and has been sanded down many times and washed with several different background colors. That’s what gave it the unique coloring you see here.

I’ve probably painted more of these birds than any other. They hold a special place in my heart. Thank you so much for looking at birds with me.

rtha lite process

On a branch in the back of my mind.

August 19, 2014 — Leave a comment
I walked to California in concrete shoes,
Midwest boy with the nothing-certain blues.
 
She walked right past me with a halo made of lead,
I turned to look when I should have tied my shoes and fled,
 
She looked like spring and I looked like a thousand winters.
whenever I got near her my thoughts turned to splinters.
 
 
 
 
I’m not often sure who “she” is, but that’s an owl, I can tell you that much for certain.  
 
 
 

Fly through the night.

February 6, 2014 — 1 Comment

Barn Owl (Tyto Alba).

Barn Owl (Tyto Alba).

It’s been since December that I’ve shared any of my acrylic work. I started this a few months ago and put the finishing touches on it last night. It will be up at a gallery in town here next month.

Working with acrylic versus my usual pen and watercolor brings out a different side of my illustration approach. Paint can allow for a texture otherwise impossible to achieve in pen. I use this concept as my guide for composition and colors. I can exaggerate the colors and light with this medium which I think helps it stand up on its own as a composition.

One of my earliest memories is of my father waking me up one summer in Michigan to see the Northern Lights. That sky has stuck in my brain all these years. As such I wanted to the sky in this piece to hold as much power and emphasis as the bird.

The bird here is a Barn Owl. One of my top 5 favorite birds to illustrate and watch. Every few nights I go out on my bike outside town with lights and ride along fence lines. I usually see at least one Barn Owl per ride. It’s exciting to spot one, often their in flight, or atop a power line pole. Silently scanning the fields for dinner.

Their wings cut with silence through the air. A ghost like face, and beautiful glow. Like no other bird I’ve seen.

The crow won’t fly.

February 5, 2014 — Leave a comment

Crow sits on a pen drawn branch.

Crow sits on a pen drawn branch.

I made this with a couple pens the other evening. I had the radio on and it played a song I liked a long time ago.

I enjoying the crows I see around town. This morning on my way to work I watched one dropping a walnut from the power lines above into the street below. His crow friends were watching and chattering loudly. All eyeing up his bounty, waiting for a car to unlock the goods. As soon as it did all alliances were voided in the chase for survival. Such as the deeds are all ways done day to day, whether we see it or not.

I see a lot of human traits in the crows around here and everywhere I’ve traveled. They chase each other like children on a playground. Holler loudly at passer byers like a drunk down town. Stand stoic like a poet lost in thought.

They embody well the poems with wings I strive to pin down on a page. Black as the night, but full of color.