Saturday, July 4, 2009

Harris Hawk Pastel

I did this pastel from a photo taken two years ago in the desert near Tucson, Arizona. This is the second bird I have done and I believe that my representation of feathers is improving.


After the first session I had the background done (I thought) and the bird well delineated.



I had the bird fairly well filled in by the end of the second session.



Here's the finished picture. I had to lighten the background which was a real pain but, as it was before, the hawk didn't really stand out.



Here a detail of the head.

4 comments:

Miriam said...

That is really beautiful! I laugh at your comment about how you THOUGHT you had finished the background...I have that problem with painting a lot too. I'm hoping it's just adding to my "style" in the long run. ;) I think you have those feathers perfect!

Laura Bartlett said...

Lovely. I never could get the hang of pastels.

Drawn to The Sea said...

I tried pastels once. The more I added the worse they got. Obviously not my medium. But obviously, one that you have an innate ability to understand. Nice execution.

Kathleen said...

Very nice! I really enjoyed the work in progress photos. I love to see the process that other artists go through. *laughs* I like the "thought it was done", too! Nice to know I have company with that one! LOL!

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
Henry Davis Thoreau