Barred Owl Portrait No.1

Clara

“Barred Owl Portrait No.1” by Allison Stevens
Oil on Canvas
77 in. wide by 57 in. high

This painting was commissioned for a private residence. We started with the concept of painting a barred owl whose unique “who-cooks-for-you” call both the client and I can hear regularly around our homes. The zoomed-in, tightly cropped composition was selected by the client and her interior designer out of a series of studies I created at the start of the process. First were sketches in pastel and then some more studies in oil (some of those will also be available in the shop!).

The textural style and starkly contrasted colors are intended to allow it to stand on its own as a bold statement piece. They’re counterbalanced with a little softness to her eyes and some feathered edges to pull that impact back just a bit. It is also intended to coordinate with the final room redesign and serve as a companion to the large trees we painted the year before, which are in an adjoining room. 

Timelapse Video:

Note from Allison:
I wouldn’t describe my creative process as “Instagram-ready.” It’s muddled and disjointed and there are phases where every single piece seems downright terrible. Nevertheless, I wanted to attempt to record the process of painting a whole piece. So feel free to watch as I work to help a barred owl emerge from a blank canvas, while Maisie and Apollo take turns supervising and/or napping in various locations. Oh and in case you're wondering, I have more than one of those purple shirts, so no, I'm not wearing the same thing every day. 

There is also a video of the canvas / stretcher construction on our YouTube channel.