OWLS

In 'Balancing Act', the great horned owl has heard something behind him, and is turning to prepare to take off in that directon. Although the scene is quite bright, it is unmistakably nighttime. Painting the one while conveying the other is not easy. "Painting nighttime is very, very difficult. Few artists have ever done it really well, and I am not including myself among them. There are various approaches, such as painting more or less normally but subduing the light so you get the feeling that it's a moonlit night. That's one way. You don't have to paint owls at night. If they are hungry, they hunt during the daytime - in among the trees, of course, so it is still pretty somber. Owls do not sleep like we sleep. Like cats, they are always alert, so it would be quite realistic to paint an owl in a tree during daytime, with his eyes open."