A friend of mine commissioned me to paint a gift for her mother’s birthday earlier this year, the only instructions I had were “she likes owls.”
Now words like these never sounded sweeter, because as an artist in any field, this means you have a full scope of infinite possibilities at your fingertips. Consider a hairdresser has just been told “do what ever you like”, wow that’s some risky business, but you can bet your bottom dollar you’re going to be sporting the most beautiful, edgey or downright ridiculous hair style guaranteed to get those heads turning, if your stylist is daring enough.
I took it and ran! I made sure I wasn’t running with scissors though, I did my research on owls as I’d never painted one before, came up with some conceptual sketches and played around with background scenery. I looked at owls in flight, owls with prey, sleeping owls, cartoon owls, white ones, tawny ones, Harry Potter made it in to the research material too! I thought about what my friends mother would like as well, I’d gotten to know her a little bit through the stories I’d heard and I knew a wiser owl with a prestigious outlook would take the cake/mouse.
I settled on a colourful closeup to showcase the amazing scope of hues that can be achieved in a feathery friend and relay a demanding presence in a bold striking ever following eye. This one turned out to be both strong and playful.
These images are of my practice round in my small watercolour journal, I’ve kept the images of the final piece safe and private as homage to a gift for a mother.
** Stuffing can have feathers