After the Storm

(Red-tailed Hawk)

The view from the grand-room windows of an amazing home we visited with friends in Idaho in 2018 provided the backdrop for this painting. Just beyond those low foothills, shrouded in the clouds, are the Grand Tetons.

Most evenings, we’d take a walk to let Finn, our Goldie, stretch his legs, and we’d glory in the “big country” of it all. Every time we ventured out, a number of Red-tails were part of the scene. They would call and play aloft. But just as often, we’d see a number of them perched on posts along the way. The point is: they were constants in the experience.

One evening, after a day of showers and periods of downpour, the clouds began to break and the golden light that flooded the scene was breathtaking. Gazing through the big windows at that amazing light, soaking in its dramatic relief, a Red-tail flared up right in front of me. We were both surprised to be eye-to-eye. 

Just a moment in memory, I tried to capture it and experimented with trying to show that light as it glowed through the bird’s translucent tail and outer wings.