GREAT-HORNED OWL, PART 1

I started this portrait as part of my ongoing reserve project. I have about 30 paintings and illustrations completed so far so am about 1/3 of the way through. It is taking longer than I expected (don't most things?} so am trying to be patient and just do my best work.
In the reserve nearby are a pair of resident Great-horned Owls and they can be heard hooting most evenings in late winter/early spring. They sometimes perch briefly on some of the houses around the woodland edge perhaps hunting for rabbits which come out about that time. Sometimes they are discovered by crows who then start up such a huge ruckus with more crows joining in and generally showing their displeasure with angry and strident calls. Occasionally I come across them roosting quietly in a tall pine - the bird is usually awake enough to stare down at me until I move on. For this work, I wanted a simple portrait focusing on the head mostly but also trying to capture some of its complex plumage. The drawing took a few hours but in the end, I thought that I had captured the essence of what I was after.