Osprey Morning

Can you tell I was off today? I am making up for lost time! I finally had some time to paint so I made the most of it. This painting of the osprey was started in class weeks ago and I had set it aside. After fixing the seagulls I decided to work on the osprey. My goal when doing this painting was to have it polished yet still painterly. I will bring it to class tomorrow to see if I succeeded.
I love ospreys...they are my favorite bird. I came across this one on Sanibel Island last summer. I was walking along the beach early one morning when I heard the familiar call of the osprey...Kew, Kew, Kew....I looked over to the big Australian Pine tree where I spotted her. She was resting in the morning sun. I had seen her there the day before feeding on a fish. She let me come close and I took some photos. She was gorgeous lit up by the sun and I felt honored to be sharing the morning with her.