44 - Caracara

Caracara__10 x 8 oil on linen panel__$550

#44 in the Birdseed Project

Caracaras started showing up on our farm just a couple of years before we left. I never remembered seeing them as a kid, and I heard that they were rather "new" to central Texas. We also call them Mexican Eagles, because they come up from Mexico... BIG BIRDS that sit on fence posts and stand around in fields. They are very handsome and not too shy, so I have gotten some pretty decent photos.

 

Mock vs. Hawk

Mock vs. Hawk__6x6 oil on linen panel__painted for Sewe
I combined a few photos I took at the farm. Hawks were always flying over the fields and I loved to watch them and hear them scream. This day, a hawk was on a fence post and the mockingbird must have had a nest nearby. She could not tolerate the big hawk, and pestered it till it flew away, giving chase and nipping at tail feathers. I saw hawks carry big field rats and rip them to shreds, but for some reason, they never took on the mockingbirds!
vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Hawk Eye

Hawk Eye-Study____8x10 oil on linen panel____for SEWE

SEWE is the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and I will be headed there in a couple of weeks. The recent blog paintings have been a preview of my paintings for this year's show. I worked this one from a photo I took at the show last year. Someone was "showing off" this bird, so I got real close...Come see me at SEWE, Feb. 11-14...it is one BIG party in Charleston, SC.

Falcon Hat__falcon, bird, birds of prey,

Falcon Hat__8x6 oil on linen panel_ painted for SEWE, unless you want it first__$190
Steve used to bring his falcon, Emo, out to our farm to fly in the fields. My children were young, then, and LOVED to watch Emo fly. He would chase pigeons, and one time he himself got hit by a hawk...it was scary, but Emo survived. I painted him from a photo Steve dent me. He has on his little "hat" blinders. This keeps him "quiet" till he flies. The tassles on top are cute, but they are what you hold onto to take it off.
Below is some info about an upcoming plein air event in Texas. Good prize money, great people and the best location in Texas...I hope you artists will come!...I will have more details tthis week...

PAINT THE TOWN___Marble Falls, TX
-It's a Plein Air Paint Out on April 16-18 (There is online registration for artists!I will have that link soon) If you are one of my artist buddies, PLEASE consider this. It is a BEAUTIFUL time of year - BLUEBONNET SEASON, and this will be a great year for them!- also, Marble Falls is in the BEST part of Texas...
-Awards: Cash $$$ plus original Bronze medals by Dan Pogue ($1000 for first place, $200 for 5th place and lots in between) The medals are REALLY UNIQUE and beautiful!
-I am the awards juror, so I cannot enter this year...DURN!
-BUT! I will have an exhibit in town at that time: LAST YEAR ON THE FARM selections from my series of plein air works will be on exhibit in Marble Falls for several weeks in April.
-I will give a gallery talk and sign my book Last Year on the Farm: A Story of Change on Sunday, April 18.