Tonight found me well fed and inspired. I put three owls to page.
These two came from sketches I did last week on the bus to work. They will soon be painted into the grain for good.
Owls for Omi
ornithology
Great Horned Owl
I’ve had this one on my mind for a while. Until recently I never saw on the page what I did in my mind.
With the help of field time, some great literature, a stack of sketchbooks, and zero social life, I have found a foot hold on the uphill battle that I call owl portraits.
Sketches of Spain…except owls….and I was watching cartoons and I misplaced my Miles Davis CDs.
Like a lead in a detective case. While I’m far from having the nuances of the owl captured, I’m off to a good start. This is the motivation I hoped for going into a new year.
Glide between your wing beats.
I bought this new piece of ply-wood for $40 from the hardware store across town.
I cut it into a few pieces. Not at all evenly, really not sure what sort of math I was using.
They went from biggest to smallest. The small part I wasn’t sure what to do with,
so I left it in the bed of my truck. The medium looked good for a hawk. On that
I laid out the Zone-Tailed Hawk shared here previously. The final piece, larger seemed
fit for a great bird, while I considered an Osprey for a minute, I felt it a fine day to go from
Hawks to Eagles. The Bald Eagle seemed a good starting point.
Here it is in pencil gliding between wing beats.
Great Gray Owl
The Great Gray Owl has been of interest to me lately. The largest of our Owls in North America. They hunt over forest clearings and nearby open space by night.
The rings on the face make the yellow eyes appear smaller.
This was my initial sketch after just looking over a few photographs and books. Further studies will yield better illustrations I’m confident.
Two years ago when I decided I wanted to write and illustrate my own collection of birds, I was uncertain of my capabilities of capturing the nuances of the Owls. While I’m still far from mastering it, I do see delightful progress in the direction I desire.
farnco illustrations 