21” X 44”
Despite the extremely dry summer of 2016, we had one of the most beautiful autumns that I can remember. While I was contemplating what kind of fall scene I wanted to paint, I got the opportunity to study and photograph this male Kestrel. The smallest member of the falcon family, these beautiful birds were called Sparrow Hawks prior to the 1970’s. Farmlands like this are perfect areas for these stealthy predators to hunt field mice and meadow voles. I have always loved how the early morning fog seemed to create pockets of soft cool rest between the layers of warm color at this time of the year, and I wanted to depict this type of atmosphere in my painting. The red roofed barn that has shed much of its asphalt siding was one I have seen many times from a road on a hill above this valley, and it worked well as a destination for this quiet but efficient hunter.