Harris Hawk Soars In Moonlit Desert Sky

Harris Hawk

A mysterious night above the desert floor. A Harris Hawk soars through the moonlight sky. The idea of making this painting came to me on a recent trip that my wife and two of our three grandkids made. About a 45 minute drive from where I live, there is a World Bird Sanctuary. It’s basically a hospital for all kinds of wild birds. They even do bird shows that both kids and adults enjoy. During this particular show they brought out a Harris Hawk. These hawks are native to the American Southwest, Chili, Argentina and Brazil. It’s a social bird that usually hunts in packs. Their eye sight is eight times stronger than humans, and they are amazing to watch in flight. I used three pine planks for this painting. 

Penguins In The Desert

19 January is “Penguin Awareness Day” and on 25 April its “World Penguin Day”. Who knew? I certainly didn’t until I stumbled upon this info while surfing the net. It turns out that I just completed a painting involving penguins. In fact, it is my second painting with these two love birds. They are Louis and Penelope named from the movie Trading Places. In my first painting that I posted in this blog, Louis and Penelope are whale watching. In this painting, Louis and Penelope wild adventures continue. Penelope says to Louis… “Louis, how did we end up in the desert? Louis replies… “We took a wrong turn in Canada Penelope”. In this painting, I used the native Saguaro Cactus found in Arizona. My canvas is constructed with 4 pine wood planks glued together. The misadventures of Penelope and Louis will continue. It will be awhile though. They have to get out of the desert first.