Otonobee Mist - Osprey Family

I'm very pleased to now be selling my father's mixed media wildlife / birds of prey paintings here on my shop! 

• All paintings use a combination of traditional and digital techniques. The work begins with detailed drawings, in black or coloured graphite. Oil-painting washes are added before the image is scanned and completed with digital painting. All the prints on offer are somewhat smaller than the original works. 

• Prices are for museum quality giclée prints on canvas with stretcher frames included. Prints on paper, and some smaller sizes are available upon request.

• Shipped directly from printer.  For non-North American orders, prints cannot be shipped with stretcher frames. Please email to inquire. 

Painting description:

A favourite, from the time I first saw one (being chased by a flock of Crows) in 1978; it became the subject of my first attempt to paint birds a year later. At 21-27” long with a wingspan of up to 70”, this bird is somewhat larger than a Red-Tailed Hawk. In flight, it’s wings are held with a slight crook, so from a distance may look like a gull. It preys exclusively on fish and has some unique adaptations for the task. The talons are long, and the underside of the feet have rough ‘scales’ that aid in grasping fish. As well, all four toes are of equal length, but the outside front toe is reversible. When hunting, they will hover until they spot a fish, then dive – slowly at first, but when about 10 feet above the water the wings fold into a delta shape, with legs and talons fully extended and they plunge, often disappearing beneath the surface. The painting depicts a family that resided on the Otonobee River in Peterborough. Ontario until their nesting platform fell about 10 years ago. It has been replaced, but to date is unused.