Artist & Painter Rebecca Latham’s Nature & Wildlife Art

This piece (about 4" x 6") is a little different than some of my other work, and I thought that some of my visitors might like to see it. 

As you can see, it has a splashy, looser backdrop with the tight detail of the face of the eagle.  (the fluidness of the background brought me back to my early watercolor days. )  The painting is more of a study than anything, but I really enjoyed the abstract quality of the blues behind and working the tight detail on the face of the bird.    (…and, yes…it’s still classic miniature because of it’s tight refined detail in the focal point. :D)

The original is a part of a private collection, prints are available.

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I’ve had some requests to post more of my sketches and works-in-progress on my blog…so here’s another painting that is sitting in the studio…

This is a work-in-progress - a barn owl portrait that will debut at th Moosehorn Gallery in Montana. They are having a large event this summer and (…if everything goes well on this piece… ) this will be one of my paintings in their summer show.

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This is a new miniature painting of a pair of Trumpeter Swans ("On Golden Pond") in watercolors painted for the Seaside Art Gallery’s International Miniature Exhibition (their 17th annual) in Nags Head, North Carolina….one of 3 4×6 miniatures that I have in this year’s show.

"The Overseer - Cougar" & "Shattered Silence - American Bald Eagle" - both 4×6 watercolor miniatures that are also on exhibit at the Seaside show.

The exhibit just opened on the 5th and will run through the end of May. http://seasideart.com/

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This is how all of those smaller paintings that I’ve been working on turned out - all framed.

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This is a new little screech owl piece that I just started working on.  This, of course, is the sketch for the painting. 

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This is a new little painting that I’m starting.  It is a female snowy owl, so she has some nice black barring and pattern.  She also had a little bit of an attitude when I was able to study and photograph her , which I think will look nice in the painting.

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This is the final redtail sketch.  I’ve decided to paint it as a 5×7.  There seems to be a lot of movement and action in this pose of the hawk. 

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This is a a drawing that I’ve been working on today - the beginnings of my next painting .  It’s a redtail hawk, Jamaica, from the Minnesota Raptor Center.  I am just about finished with the sketch and should begin painting it in tomorrow . 

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This is a photo of the barred owl painting that I finished recently - a portrait.  The painting, of course, is watercolor and is 8×10.  The sketch for this piece was posted here.

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I started a new owl painting. This piece is a barred owl and is a little larger than the last owl I painted. It is only a sketch in this post, but the color version of it is beginning to take shape on my easel and should be completed soon.

I really love painting all species owls, but Barred owls are one of my favorites. I have been able study quite a few of them in my visits around the country to various wildlife rehabilitation and education centers. I am always drawn to the dark eyes of the barred owl. They seem to be immediately captivating, and often appear to be black when they aren’t in direct sunlight.

There are very few owls in North America that have dark eyes. The Barn Owl, Flammulated Owl, Spotted Owl, and of course, the Barred Owl. Most of the owl species have the more common golden iris, that is also very striking in it’s own way.

Occasionally, I have been able to see the Barred Owl in the wild while on a nature hike. I was able to spot one during a day trip hike in the Everglades a few years ago, though the Barred Owls in Florida do look a bit different than our northern Minnesota variety, primarily smaller and thinner from my observations.

I have been able to listen to them fairly regularly here in Minnesota, though I haven’t been able to spot one of them in the wild yet. Quite often there are two of them calling to each other during the winter, courting.  See the comment post for a Barred Owl audio clip.  Enjoy!

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