California Condor: Finished

"Fate of the Condor" 9x12" on cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. Watercolor, powdered graphite, charcoal, india ink, acrylic, and white acrylic ink.

I went with a less controlled approach for this piece, and relied on the wide variety of materials to bring their own character into the process. Of course, I wanted to bring a clearer detail to the condor's face, and further accentuated that with the sky halo about its head.

As a bonus, I will share some pictures I took as the painting progressed. A thousand apologies for the rather subpar lighting and inevitable blur that resulted! 

It's come a long way from the original sketch (thank goodness!) and turned out quite decently.

California Condor: Work in Progress

A preliminary sketch for a painting that I am contributing for a Kickstarter project, "Losing Altitude." The project is an illustrated collaboration from many artists featuring a large variety of endangered and threatened bird species from around the globe. You can find the project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/animuspanthera/losing-altitude-a-collaborative-art-book?ref=live

Condors may be considered ugly by some, but I'll never see them as less than the magnificent birds they are.