#2837 "January Barred Owl"

#2837 "January Barred Owl"
20x16 inches oils on gallery-wrapped canvas
Started January 10th, 2024 

I love barred owls. We hear and enjoy them all year within the Singleton Sanctuary. Slightly smaller than a Great Horned Owl, a Barred Owl has a well-developed facial disk with very dark eyes. Barred Owls are common in the United States and central and northern Ontario, however, they are extremely rare in parts of southwestern Ontario. Barred Owls roost quietly in forest trees during the day, though they can occasionally be heard calling in daylight hours. At night they hunt small animals, especially rodents, and give an instantly recognizable "Who, Who cooks for you?" call. 

My friend John Verburg, a naturalist and terrific photographer took this image of the owl and allows me to paint from his art. I display the photo on an old TV and go right to the brush. #2833 "The Sun of Whiskey Jack Bay" is the 3 by 4 foot canvas on my studio easel behind "January Barred Owl". The barred owl is 20x16 inches in size and just the subject I needed while "The Sun of Whiskey Jack Bay" rested on the Studio easel. The large painting needed to cure before I worked on it again. I intended to paint the owl as a warm and curious subject against a cool tangle of branches and an overcast sky. 

The eyes are the soul of this majestic bird. Get those right and nothing else matters much. Those eyes needed to be quizzical and not threatening. Painting is work and I was exhausted after a morning of the intense concentration required to get this painting right. It is easy to get lost in the nuances of the feathers. There were heart-shaped shadows to find in the underside of the owl tail feathers along with countless variations in tone and colour. The goal was to make the owl come alive without killing it with several thousand, unnecessary brush strokes. I wanted the owl to be able to swoop silently off the canvas but before that could happen, the viewer and the owl needed to lock eyes. 

I wanted the same kind of communication that happens when someone views #0554 "Sharp Stare!". The owl eyes are much larger than those of the sharp-shinned hawk so one would think that eye-lock would be easier to achieve. The owl's eyes were very dark and the details to make them "see" were subtle. Communication needs to be a two-way street and it took considerable thought and some precise strokes to make that happen. Then it was time to stop... step away from the easel. If you look there is so much to see and one can always find more. I had to stop looking... 

These incredible birds deserve our respect and stewardship. 

I was listening to the Best of the Statler Brothers CDs. My Brother Jim has been acquiring hundreds of CDs while the rest of the world was shifting to streaming Spotify. We too have Spotify now that StarLink provides faster internet to very rural areas. However, the old CDs are classic. There are several lifetimes of music left to listen to again. 

The world needs more classic art whether it be music, dance or paintings. Creativity needs to return to the education system. It is impossible to feel bad or to harm anything with a paintbrush in your hand. Just my thoughts of course...

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint 2024 Collection. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick