Painting #101, The Shivering Owl (Eastern Screech Owl)
9x12, Watercolor
I decided to enter Laure Ferlita's 100 Paintings in a Year Challenge again (with an ultimate goal of 500 paintings in five years). I started off the year with a detailed watercolor. I've never worked this detailed before, and it was a grand practice in patience. I'm used to firing off paintings in a single session, so this was new for me. To paint this little Screech Owl, I laid in layer after layer of color, slowly building up the depth over many sessions...and many days! I scanned a lot of the versions, and Rick surprised me with this video showing the progression of the painting. (Thank you, Rick!!! Not only can he bake, he can program too!)
Painting a Screech Owl from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.
Beak BitHere in Cincinnati, we call this little owl an Eastern Screech Owl, but in the south, I read in Robert Bateman's book, "Birds," the owl is often referred to as a "Shivering" Owl, which makes more sense. "Shivering" Owl sounds so pretty and is much more descriptive than "Screech" Owl. After all, the diminutive predators don't screech. They have a plaintive, wavering...shivering call!
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