Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Ghostly pale and (not) strictly nocturnal, Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are silent predators of the night world. Lanky, with a whitish face, chest, and belly, and buffy upperparts, this owl roosts in hidden, quiet places during the day. By night, they hunt on buoyant wingbeats in open fields and meadows. You can find them by listening for their eerie, raspy calls, quite unlike the hoots of other owls. Despite a worldwide distribution, Barn Owls are declining in parts of their range due to habitat loss. I for one do not see them as often as I used to, but a few nights ago I was thrilled to hear one screeching just before dawn.

The Owl Rescue Centre is the only raptor centre in South Africa that primarily focus on owl species. They give all their time and attention to owl species because of the high mortality rate of owls in South Africa, making owls vulnerable to a decreasing population. They rehabilitate and release 200 – 250 Spotted Eagle Owls, 100 – 150 Barn Owls and 80 -100 other owl species each year. SHOULD YOU FIND AN OWL THAT YOU SUSPECT MIGHT BE INJURED, PLEASE CALL THEM ON 082 719 5463 (24/7 emergency line – South Africa)

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An Introduction, and a "how to"

I'm Sharon.  I'm new here, and new to blogging, so bear with me.

I don't usually write much about my work or myself, yet I was kindly invited here and I'll try to do my best.  Some of you may already know me from Facebook or perhaps my website, but for those who don't here's the short version:

I lived most of my life in rural England, surrounded by nature in all its forms. I loved rainy days and sunny days alike, wandering in fields looking for 'treasures' - usually an interesting pebble or bit of wood.  Sometimes, if I was lucky I would find a rabbit skull (I had quite a collection of these), and once I found a flint arrowhead.

I started dabbling with watercolours from my early teens.  First copying works and then drawing from photos or from nature.  I eventually went to art college, and then to University to follow a fine arts degree.  I hated every minute of it.

For a start no one was interested in such a traditional and 'boring' medium as watercolour.  Acrylics were the big thing and everyone wanted to be the next Damien Hirst* - that is; someone who is at least as adept at talking about their work as they are actually producing it, and if the talk became bigger than the art then so much the better! (Yes I have a bee in my bonnet about such things!)

I gave up after two miserable years and got married, had kids, got divorced, got depressed, moved to Edinburgh and tried to commit suicide. I was not in a happy place, mentally speaking.

Then one day while visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE) I picked up a leaflet advertising their Diploma in Botanical Illustration.  I applied and was accepted, and I have never looked back since.  The course changed my life completely.

My depression lifted, slowly but surely. I met a new partner who supports my new career completely, and I'm now painting like never before.  On top of this I have also discovered that I love to teach.  I now teach on the RBGE's Distance Learning Diploma in Botanical Illustration and I'll be teaching on the Certificate in Botanical Illustration intensive course during the summer.  I also teach at least one short course each year at the Botanics - the last one was 'Complex Forms' and the next will be 'Garden Visitors' (date TBC).

I also give one-to-one 'Skype' tutelage, which gives me great flexibility as I can work from home and fit my painting and my lessons around each other.

*A man who famously pickled a bull, but who had no idea who or what a Minotaur is.

Thank you for being so patient through that, here's some actual work (sorry about the quality these were photos rather than scans):

The beginnings: Here I have started a Barn Owl, a beautiful bird which is becoming increasingly rare.  First I transferred my drawing onto the Fabriano 5 using tracing paper.  Then I lightly went over all the outlines in appropriate colours of paint, then I removed the pencil with a soft putty eraser.  I started blocking in the eye, as with all paintings of living creatures it is immensely important that they eye is right.  If it is then other things can be wrong with the painting and it'll still look ok, but if the eye is wrong then the painting will never look any good and you may as well start again.  Nearly all of the animal's character is conveyed through the eye.

I started then to add some very light washes to define the basic areas of tone.  I used Raw Umber for the upper body colour - an excellent match for the Barn Owl start from the tube. The white areas I started to define with a mix of Payne's Grey and Sepia.

Here a little more definition is going in.  I've blocked in the beak with a Permanent Rose, mixed with a little of the Raw Umber and some Burnt Sienna. I'm starting to figure out how to lay down the complex markings on the wing - a series of dots and larger areas of Sepia and Payne's Grey.

The same pink mix here going in on the feet, more definition on the beak and expanding the areas of detail.

A heavier wash of Raw Umber over the back which is helping to define the shape of the bird much more. The talons have been started and the tail is getting more defined.

Feet and talons taking shape.  These are also important points on any bird and care should be taken over them.  The shadowing on the underside is getting much deeper and there is more definition to the face.

More markings on the wing.

A series of little speckles across the entire back and running down onto the wing - this is the basis (the underpainting if you will) for the markings across the back.  This look horribly complicated, but if you build up in thin layers of paint then it's actually fairly simple.

Finally finished. I added to the grey markings and defined the larger more obvious markings as well.  The dark areas were a mix of Payne's Grey and Sepia, and some of the little oval markings has a wee dab of White Gouache added to them.  I made the feet greyer and put more shadow and definition on the tail area.
The whole thing took something like 10 hours altogether, spread over several days.
List of paints used:

Raw Umber

Sepia

Payne's Grey

Permanent Rose

Burnt Sienna (only a little here and there)

I used a NO.4 W&N Series 7 miniature for all the washes 

and a NO.2 W&N Series 7 miniature for the rest.

Thank you for reading this far, I hope it wasn't too tedious. :)

Barn owls - Maree

Ink sketch and W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

I've been so lucky this past summer in having the barn owls in our blue gum bush again and I've had plenty of sightings during the day and been thrilled by their screeching at night. I've mostly spotted this one particular pair and I was so hoping to see babies but I have no idea where the nest is.

Barn owls are most commonly monogamous, although several reports of polygamy exist. Pairs typically remain together as long as both individuals live.

Courtship begins with display flights by males which are accompanied by advertising calls and chasing the female. During the chase, both the male and the female screech. The male will also hover with feet dangling in front of the perched female for several seconds; these are known as moth flights.

Copulation occurs every few minutes during the nest site search. Both sexes crouch down in front of each other to solicit copulation. The male mounts the female, grasps her neck, and balances with spread wings. Copulation continues with decreasing frequency throughout incubation and chick rearing.

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Barn Owl hunting 2 - Maree

Black Pilot FineLiner pen sketch on a coffee-painted back-ground – Nescafé instant, strong! – Bockingford 300gsm Location : Our smallholding in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa 

The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn owl family Tytonidae. The Barn Owl is a frequent visitor to my property and is not shy to hunt in broad daylight. I often see one pouncing on something in the long grass during the day, flying off with its prize, probably to feed some babies.

These pale, nearly worldwide, birds are closely associated with man through their traditional use of barn lofts and church steeples as nesting sites.

Barn Owls are short-lived birds. Most die in their first year of life, with the average life expectancy being 1 to 2 years in the wild.

Although they are easy to identify in the day as they often hunt in daylight, by night you can find them by listening for their eerie, raspy screech, quite unlike the hoots of other owls.

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Barn Owl hunting 1 - Maree

“Something in the air this morning made me feel like flying. . . " 

Brown Stabilo Fine point 0.4 pen sketch on a coffee-painted back-ground – DalerRowney 300gsm 

The Barn Owl (Tyta alba) is a frequent visitor to my property and is not shy to hunt in broad daylight. I often see one pouncing on something in the long grass during the day, flying off with its prize, probably to feed some babies. 

Barn Owls love to use man-made structures to build their nests and are very partial to nest boxes one supplies. I’ve always had a box or two in my garden but, sadly to say, the weather has taken it’s toll on them and seeing as I’m past the stage of climbing trees to put one up, it’ll have to wait until I find someone young and agile to do the job for me! 

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OWL EYES

Owl - Bubo bubo - watercolour on Fabriano paper

this owl lives in the wildlife rescue center in the Abatino Park in Poggio San Lorenzo (Rieti) Italy