Barred Owl

6x8' acrylic, see DPW for purchase information

Arna and I flushed this big barred owl on our walk through the woods yesterday at about 4:30 pm.  These owls have migrated from their east coast origins and seem to be quite content taking up residence in my woods.  They have a characteristic song described as "who cooks for youuuu" and a mating call that is weirdly wonderful echoing through the night woods.  (described as "hoo-aw" but my owls say  "eeeeeyour"- must be a west coast adaptation!)  They are more active during daylight hours than many of their kin and if you don't see them, you'll surely hear them if you frequent the forest around here.

This painting is another experiment on copper metal affixed to a foam core backing.  I prep it by sanding, cleaning with alcohol and then rubbing the surface with garlic juice.  Apparently the juice ever so finely etches the metal surface making it more receptive to paint.  I then apply acrylic medium over the entire surface to seal it and to lengthen my working time since I'm using acrylics.  Of course that makes the surface "slicker than snot" to paint on. (garlic notwithstanding)  The paint goes on grudgingly and somewhat transparent to begin with, slowly becoming more sticky and opaque as the medium dries.  If I commit myself to alla prima, I can't get too fussy with the details... generally a good thing all around :)  I like this one better than the first attempt, so I'll call that progress.