This and That

So, last week I reconnected with one of my old painting buddies.  We decided to head to one of our regional parks for a plein air painting session.  We chose a park that has an abundance of trees and water features to keep us cool in the 100+ degree weather we've been having.

My friend arrived about 40 minutes late and as soon as she got out of her car she said she had forgotten her pochade box.  A pochade box is what you attach to your tripod and it serves as a palette to hold your paint and an easel to hold your canvas. If you forget your box, painting isn't going to happen.  She said she could just draw while I painted so we wondered the many trails until we found a bubbling brook with lots of interesting rocks and greenery.

We had a couple visitors who walked right past us.

After sketching my desired scene I suggested that we quit for the day and then come back on a day where we could both paint.

On the way back to the car we stopped at the Visitor Center and they had some amazing taxidermized birds on display.  My favorite was this Swainson's Hawk.  A light bulb went off in our heads and we decided to ask if we could come back and sketch these beauties.  The staff was more than happy to say yes to that request.

A couple days later we came back with big sketch books, pencils and cameras to capture our subject.  Isn't he beautiful?

The staff were kind enough to move the two birds to a well lighted area and even brought us chairs so we could be comfortable.  I started with a frontal view.

Then I turned him for a side view.  The whole time I was thinking that this guy looks like the two birds of prey that have taken up residence on our raptor roost and back yard trees.  Or at least they did hang out in our trees until they had eaten all the baby birds that had been nesting there.  Sad, but it's survival of the fittest.

This is probably the view I'm going to paint from.  I want to capture that big beautiful wing.

For a couple months Irv has thought these were Peregrine Falcons.  I've been a little skeptical though because they seemed too big.

What do you think?  A couple days ago Irv uploaded one of these pictures to iNaturalist and it came back identified as a Swainson's Hawk.  These birds are found in the Great Plains and in the West.  They winter in Argentina and have one of the longest migrations of any bird.  

On Saturday we went to a nearby state park because the Air Force Academy was putting on a falconry exhibition.  I was hoping they would bring their flyers, but apparently they're molting and are very cranky right now.  One of the best things about going to an AF football game is that they fly the falcons around the stadium at half time.  A question was asked if they ever fly away and the answer was yes.  Fortunately they wear telemetry and a GPS so their handler can go track them down using an iPad.  Apparently they don't go very far and are quite happy when a human shows up to take them back since they don't have any hunting or survival skills since they are raised in captivity.

This young lady is a senior cadet at the academy this year and she was very charismatic and knowledgeable.  She's holding Nova, a Gyrfalcon, who is the official symbol of the academy.  It is normally found in the arctic and is the largest of the falcons.  In medieval times only a king would have owned a Gyrfalcon.  She said the Academy has been offered bars of gold from Saudi Arabians for this falcon due to him being so majestic and rare.  The falcons at the academy are primarily bred for the academy from a falconer in Wyoming.

The other falcon they brought along was this little guy.  I can't remember what species it is, but it's not a kestrel like Irv and I thought.

Afterwards we headed up to Top Golf for the old man's birthday party.  Birthdays around here always include a Nothing Bundt cake.

Irv got a new pair of Oakley sunglasses, some airPods and lots of Reese's peanut butter cups and Oreos.  He's impossible to buy for.  Many people took the time to call him and wish him well on this 64th birthday.

One more year until Medicare kicks in!

On Sunday I finally finished a painting I started in Arizona about six months ago.  For the last few months I've had a creative block and have thought my paintings were crap so I've been hesitant to even get the paints out.  Reconnecting with my friend and painting teacher have made me want to start painting again.  I don't know a single artist who ever thinks their painting is completely finished or good enough.  There just comes a point where you say it's good enough so that you can move onto the next project.

Time to start painting that hawk!