A Watchful Great Horned Owl
About this artwork
Great horned owls spend a lot of time sitting and intently watching, rotating their heads to look at whatever interests them, including me, shares artist Emil Morhardt. They look particularly distinctive not only because of their huge yellow eyes, and intelligent steady gaze, but the complexity of their facial feathers. I painted this with tiny, isolated brush strokes to evoke his plumage without actually trying to paint individual feathers. Then I used multiple glazes to add the color patchwork.