Acrylic sketch on A5 canvas board, painted in around an hour or so.

An abstract tawny owl (strix aluco). A sketch from a series of four, the same series of experiments as the previous short-eared owl and little owl. I was really getting into the swing of it with this one and I think it shows. Of the four this was the one I was most pleased with in terms of there being about as much realism in the face as I was after.

Tawny owl are very territorial throughout the year. I have lived in a few places with resident pairs I would hear at night. The sound and sight of them often makes me feel like I’m home.