RED-TAILED HAWK PORTRAIT

 

Quite a few years ago, I visited a falconer friend to make studies and sketches of his birds. This partial-albino Red-tailed Hawk was the one that interested me the most and my sketchbooks are full of hawk drawings. It was a first-year bird, almost completely white but with quite a few ‘normal’ head feathers along with the odd darker one here and there. The tail was of a normal juvenile (barred) but much lighter than usual. Apparently these very pale birds appear in about 5% of the overall Red-tailed Hawk population. All show varying amounts of white but this is the whitest one that I have seen. Most have been birds with the usual plumage features but with a much lighter overall tone, some are the opposite being quite dark and I have made some studies of a sooty-looking dull-greyish bird. The underparts though were slightly lighter and it still had its usual red tail found on adult birds although this was darker than usual. This plumage variation is common amongst the buteo genus.

I remember starting with some quick sketches done from a respectable distance. I found this hawk to be a very docile bird which meant that I was able to approach and examine it closely without any nervousness, and moving the bird into sunlight helped bring out more of its character. So far I have completed quite a few paintings of this bird, this one was done in watercolor so as to try and capture the softness of the plumage. In this portrait, as I was only concerned with my thoughts and interactions with the bird, I kept the background simple and concentrated on bringing out the essence of this wonderful hawk. Size is about 8 x 11 in. (20 x 28cm).

EVENING LIGHT SUNDOWN

 

In this painting, I tried to capture the incredible light effect as the sun set over the water. There were only a few clouds so I kept them soft for a quieter mood. This is an older work, I used to do a lot of paintings along this similar theme and I think it is time I did more! Size is 12 x16 in (30 x 40 cm), oil on canvas.

EVENING AT THE LAKE

 

In this older work, I tried to capture the feeling of evening light falling over the nearby lake. I would often visit this area and did many studies and paintings there. Some like this one was more successful in that I felt I captured a feeling of open space, atmosphere and color. This oil is a 9 x 12, oil on canvas.

MUTE SWAN

 

I'm still not properly sorted with regards to my studio set up but I am getting there! Unfortunately not much time to paint at the moment but I did do a little more work to this oil study. Another painting that was started some time ago but I am a little more sure of the direction I want to take this one now. Size is 12 x 16 inches (30 x40 cm). Oil on Board.

HAWK FEATHER

 

We have moved once again and now my studio is full of boxes! Unfortunately this has hampered any serious painting that was planned but I did find some time to complete this study of a hawk's primary feather. I believe it is from a Red-tailed Hawk (I do see a few soaring around here from time to time) and I remember doing a similar painting to this one many years ago. Surprised at how long it was, I decided to paint this beautiful feather life size and the study on the right is of the top, the one on the left is looking from the trailing edge showing not just how it is curved longitudinally but also how it twists along its length. The barring extends from tip to base but the underside is quite a bit lighter than the top. Amazing, all of these exquisite details in a single feather! Size is about 14 x 11 inches.

MOTH STUDY

 

I recently finished this study of a moth I found out in the open near were we were staying. I picked it up and it sat on my hand while I gathered some reference of it. After I had finished a drawing, I left it in the seclusion of a thick bush to spend the rest of the day hidden from predators. Hopefully it survived, mated and was able to continue its life cycle. This watercolor was done in my sketchbook - size is about 5 x 4 inches (13 x 10 cm).

KILLDEER STUDIES

 

I have been continuing work on the Killdeer family that was present at the nearby wetlands. Mostly this has been in the form of sketches but also some watercolors. I plan on showing their lifecycle from nest through to adult as shown here. During hot weather, birds appear much slimmer than at other times due to their feathers being compressed and held close to their bodies to help with cooling. Some birds will pant when it is unusually hot (and also when they are stressed). This study is of an alert bird as it has young nearby. I find it is important for me as an artist to paint the individual. Similar to portrait painting where one tries to capture the characteristic and likeness of the sitter, in turn I try to capture the same in any bird that I paint.

This painting is of an almost fully-grown immature. Killdeers usually lay a clutch of 4 eggs but I could only find one youngster that had grown up. The others could have been hidden in the grassy marshland nearby or perhaps they were predated. Anyway, I noted how much plainer its plumage was compared to the adults and the bill perhaps not quite full size yet. So far, I have enjoyed trying to capture the details of this family. And in doing so have been able to share something of their life through my observations and studies. Sizes of each are about 5 x 8 in (13 x 20 cm).