1072 Beauty and a Beast

 A few years ago, I had the good fortune to observe a family of Great Horned Owls nest in our neighborhood.  It was an amazing experience.  Not only are they stealth, they are fierce.  The owlets were so adorable, and watching them fledge was amazing.  We were fortunate to have this same experience the following year.

The little vase was made by Renee Schwaller of Off the Wheel Pottery.  I couldn't resist the little owl, and the other side has a picture of a little perched bird.  I love the contrast of the elegant geranium and the whimsical image of the bird and hope you do too.

Day 8 of the Strada Easel September 30-day Challenge

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/1072-beauty-and-a-beast/926992

852 Peek-a-boo

The owl family is moving around a little more now that Baby is somewhat comfortable with leaving "home," mostly because of parental or predator pressure.   He/she prefers to stay close to the trunk of familiar trees, and seems to be more comfortable with keeping Mom or Dad right next to her/him. Having these creatures near has been a great way to observe nature in all its glory and to encourage neighborly friendliness, and everyone seems to enjoy sharing their experiences and observations.

Thanks again to my neighbors,  Steve and Ann Gardiner, for generously sharing their photos with me, along with permission to paint from them.

I have been keeping busy experimenting with abstracts and different media.  Trust me, it is SO much more difficult than it looks.  To me, a good abstract painting is not just slapping paint on a canvas and calling it an abstract, rather, it has all the elements of a good painting,  and it has been a very slow process, but I am really enjoying it.  My #1 critic has given his approval, so I feel I am on the right track, although he doesn't quite understand why I wouldn't want to stick with "my day job."  ho hum.

"852 Peek-a-boo"
acrylic - 8x10 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/852-peek-a-boo/575561

602 Will or Cramer?

For a full 24 hours, we could not find the family of Great Horned Owls in the neighborhood, and sadly assumed they left the area, but we joyfully discovered they had moved only a block south from the willow tree.  The babies are more mobile now, but still, at least one parent is usually nearby.  They are not visible to us during the daytime, but at dusk they are busy.  Since they are now a block closer to our house, I am hoping they will get "carry out" from our yard.  I have chased squirrels and chipmunks from our bird feeders, thanks to Oliver's guard.

A giant thank you to Steve Gardiner for taking such beautiful pictures of the owls, including the reference photo for this painting,  for sharing them with friends and neighbors, and for granting permission for me to paint them. 

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/602-will-or-cramer/371974

600 Learning to Fly

I am excited and proud that this is my 600th daily painting in two years with Daily Paintworks.  I never imagined how rewarding this experience woud be, but I have enjoyed every minute of it, meeting new DPW artists along the way, and certainly learning a lot I didn't know about painting.
Oh happy day!

As you may know from previous reports, my neighbors and I are all hooting with joy over the Great Horned Owl family in a nearby willow tree.  I can't seem to get enough of this experience, so there was no question as to what my 600th subject would be.  We have been watching this family grow since January, now with two babies.  I took the photo of this owlet on the day when we first saw the chicks moving about the branches, spreading their wings for balance, and maybe even flying a little.  To see these beautiful creatures with their Mama is such an awesome experience---she never takes her eyes off of them, each day giving them more independence, all with a motherly nurturing we share.  She calls them to come for breakfast and dinner and it reminds the human mother observers of the days when we called our little ones down to eat, only we weren't serving rabbits.  Tonight's crowd of owl-groupies neared 20 people, and all agree it will be very sad to see them move on, although we know that's the way it works.  "hoo ooo, ca CHOO"

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/600-learning-to-fly/371230

583 New Mama

We have a new family in our neighborhood and I am over the moon smitten by them.  I visit them many times each day and take photos with my 20x zoom lensed camera.  Mom and Dad have two or three kids.  They are Great Horned Owls and the babies have just recently become visible.  The babies are SO adorable---like little puffs of cotton with perfectly round eyes and little hooked beaks.  Did you know that what look like ears are not really ears at all?  (I hope I got that correct.)   We find feathers, squirrel tails and tufts of fur throughout the neighborhood, and everyone is hoping they keep the rabbit population at bay this summer.