Follow my journey as I paint this portrait of Willow, a beautiful barn owl whose secret life I have followed closely.
Barn owls are extremely beautiful birds and watching them soar over the fields and valleys of the Yorkshire Wolds Is an incredible sight
Barn owl paintings
They’ve inspired many of my paintings, including this one of Willow. Willow is a barn owl I know well and I want this painting to do her justice. I start this painting by putting the sky down first. Using acrylics I have to work really quickly before it dries. I use a roller to soften some of the brushstrokes out and blend it a little.
Perspective
I have to get up on to a ladder to see the painting fully, because I tend to work so close to the picture this gives me the perspective I need to plan where the barn owl will be positioned. It's only when I see the painting from a distance that I realise I need to add more colour to the clouds to get a bit more warmth in. It's amazing how many different colours there are in clouds.
Foreground
Next its time to work on the foreground and, working from dark to light, I add bushes and grass. I then use an airbrush to even out the strokes around the clouds. Once I'm happy with the background, I start to get the outline in. I use coloured pencils and once I'm happy with that it's a case of blocking in the basic colours.
Adding detail.
I can then move on to the details of the facial disk and then the wings. Using an airbrush I then use an airbrush to soften the brushstrokes. I put very fine layers of paint on with the airbrush and sometimes you can barely see it, but it just helps to bring more colour into the wings and creating the softness of feathers. Finally I put darker markings on with a pencil and fine brush. This final touch really makes a difference to the painting.
Finish
After months of work, I think it's complete. It's hard to know when to stop with a painting, but after adding a few highlights to the grasses I decide it's complete. Framing And finally it's time to get it into a frame. I hope you’ve enjoyed this painting journey, from blank canvas to finished painting.
