Owl and Foggy Island Illustration

Posted on by
5

Owl #20
Image

Wow, we’ve hit number 20! This Owl is on a foggy and rocky island, with a lighthouse and the sea behind.
This one was fun to paint, as are most with fun different weather. Green is tricky, it is tough to use most times. This wasn’t too bad though, i think it helped to limit the green area and have different depths.

Prints are in the shop here: Foggy Island Print

Speaking of the shop, I just got some postcards made! They are really fun, i think the illustrations suit the postcard format well. So far I have a set of Snowy Owl postcards available.

Image

From the sketchbook

Posted on by
2

These are just a few preliminary owl sketches. Usually my illustrations tend to closely resemble the sketch. Other times the sketch just turns out to be a quick doodle of the idea and once i start drawing it changes quite a bit.

The elf owl desert night scene went through some major changes as I drew, including the addition of the large agave plants. I liked how this illustration kind of developed intuitively as I drew it – the end result was sort of a nice surprise I didn’t expect.

Often I like my doodles and sketches as much as the finished pieces. I think they are important – this style of illustration is influenced directly by my doodles, especially the doodling I use to do during school. A lot of the good ideas I’ve had came from doodling to ease boredom. I don’t have much time to be bored anymore, but I do try to set aside time to doodle in my sketchbooks.

10 Fun Owl Facts

Posted on by
4

During my research and reading for this project I’ve learned a lot of things about owls. I thought I’d share some of the more interesting and quirky facts I’ve come across. So, here are 10 fun owl facts.

1. Elf owls are known to play dead when caught.

2. If spotted during the day Owls are often “mobbed” or followed and pestered by groups of smaller birds. Crows will mob Great Horned Owls, chickadees will mob Northern Pygmy Owls.

3. Northern Pygmy Owls have dark markings on the back of their head, a set of “false eyes” to confuse predators and groups of mobbing birds. Check out this video! http://www.flickr.com/photos/hone-preston/6824590598/
They can also easily be mistaken for a pine cone!

Northern Pygmy Owl. Photo by brodman’s 17 on Flickr

4. In Winter Short-eared Owls gather in large groups, these roosts can include up to 200 owls.

5. Owls’ ears are at different heights on its head enabling them to directionally pinpoint a sound. Great Grey and Northern Saw-Whet Owls are so good at this they can catch prey hidden under snow.

Great Grey Owl. Photo by Juan Pons

6. The “horns” or ear tufts on some owls aren’t really ears (or horns). They are feather tufts thought to be used for camouflage and silent communication.

7. Snowy Owls aggressively defend their nest sites, driving away Arctic Foxes and even Wolves by dive bombing. Geese and ducks are known to nest near Snowy Owls to take advantage of this, even though they are potential prey of the owls. It’s thought Snowies often don’t hunt near their nest sites.

8. Burrowing owlets will mimic a rattlesnake’s rattle to scare predators.


Burrowing Owl. Photo by Muriel on Flickr

9. Great Horned Owls are very adaptable. Their range covers the majority of North America, Central America, and parts of South America. They live in a wide variety of habitats, including deserts, suburbs, swamps, and northern Boreal forests.


Great Horned Owl. Photo by Ed Post on Flickr

10. Sometimes Owls will store extra food if there is an over abundance. In cold climates owls like the Northern Saw-Whet will sit on their leftovers to thaw it.

That’s it for now, hope you enjoyed them! Thanks to these photographers that allowed me to use these amazing owl photos!