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windfalcon — Thesis - Barn Owls
Published: 2009-05-29 17:03:51 +0000 UTC; Views: 11226; Favourites: 616; Downloads: 787
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Description
This is the second in a series of ten paintings for my thesis, An Illustrative Exploration of Birds of Prey in History and Culture. In this painting, I look at how the presence of barn owls on farms is beneficial to humans.According to a study by the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, for a pair of Barn Owls with six mouths to feed, the eight birds can eat 1,000 mice, voles, and other small mammals during one season of nesting (source: [link] ). Small rodents can destroy crops and infest grain, and the presence of these silent hunters help farmers immensely.
I wanted to show the softness and silence of these birds, and the soft light of near dawn seemed to fit well. I really enjoyed creating this illustration, and I feel I learned a lot in terms of technique while working on it.
About 10.5 X 17 inches, watercolor on cold-press Arches
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Comments: 65
how did you...i don't even...THAT'S AMAZINGGG!
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these look like the owls from guardians of ga'hool.
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That's because the main owl characters in the movie and portrayed on the book cover are barn owls...
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soo beutiful and cool! funny a few nights ago getting water at like 12 i saw a barred owl land near our house on the pool with a mouse in its talons! it stayed there for 4 minutes and flew off... it was sooo lovly 
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That's Cool, I like how all your paintings looks SO realistic
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i love barn owls, however for some strange reason they freek me out, its the look that they have, the really bug eyes and the small beak with a big head.
aw well. but i love them.
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Barn owls are even weirder, because of their physical differences from other owls! They have relatively small eyes compared to owls such as the great horned and barred, and their bodies are a bit more streamlined. Cool, yet eerie looking :3
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This piece is stunning! The colors all work together so nicely and bring a soft feeling to it 
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You are so gifted. What a nice piece of work. I always look for barn owls and have never seen one in the wild.
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I worked at a Raptor Rehabilitation Center for several years and barn owls were one of my favorites to see. You did an awesome job with their general body. The background is also perfect for them.
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I love the grace with which these birds fly that you have so vividly captured. Stunning work here, man.
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Tyto alba! I love barn owls. They have such a beautiful elegance.
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i adore barn owls. and this is a painting? Amazing! Great job!
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Haha it's actually just dropping a number of the corn kernels it had been greedily munching down.
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Awesome piece of art, I love the beautiful feather patterns and colors of Barn Owls!
I have a pair nesting nearby, sometimes I'm lucky enough to see a white ghost gliding through my garden
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Wonderful use of watercolours, detail is very good, love the patterns on the feathers!
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Stunning! and the texture of the wood is amazing too
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I want so bad to make a NOM NOM NOM video, with the NOM NOM NOM song, but put clips of predators chowing down on prey. It would make me lol.
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As soon as I figure out how, I will.
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Owls are wild animals. They're considered to be associated with wisdom according to the ancient Greeks. I love Barn Owls a lot because of their silent beauty and the heart-shaped face. I love the earth colors for this drop-dead gorgeous watercolor painting. I've still got a ways to go to get my wood looking like wood.
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