Summer Exhibition will Showcase Barn Owl Paintings

I need to get this painting of a barn owl finished in time for my summer exhibition which opens on June 1st.

 I photographed it at each stage of the process.

First I blocked in the basic background colours and positioned my owl, scarping away any unwanted textures with a scalpel.

Then I outlined the shape of the owl.

Next I put down the basic colours for the owl and build up a little more of the background.It takes a long time to add the detail and get the textured, feathered effect I want. I always paint in the direction  that the feathers lie to get this right.

I will be showcasing my barn owl paintings at the exhibition, which is open here at the gallery in Thixendale, North Yorkshire, everyday from 11am to 4.30pm.
I decided to focus on barn owls this year in celebration of the fact that they are thriving again here on the Yorkshire Wolds.
You may remember we lost nearly 80pc of the local population during the particularly harsh winter of 2010, but the surviving pairs bred last year and the year before so that we are back on course now. There's nothing quite as beautiful as a barn owl gliding across the countryside in the evening!!!