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Raptor Art Spotlight: Avery

Our friend Avery is our featured artist for July-August. Avery is a bright talented 8 year old Hoosier who is a good friend of the Indiana Raptor Center. Her artwork displays an observational power, and the budding skills to reproduce those observations, that are well beyond her years. Jack Wittenbrink, our supporting metal and papercut artist from New Orleans thinks she is something of a prodigy because her drawings depict correct anatomical features in proper proportion, while also putting the light of life, curiosity and spirit into the birds she draws. We are happy to have her as a friend, and will continue to feature her work on this website as long as she continues to grace us with more drawings!

A pencil drawing of a screech owl by young artist Avery

A drawing of a parrot by young artist Avery

A pencil drawing of a barn owl in flight by young artist Avery

Barn owl with mouse, by young artist Avery.

Raptor Art Spotlight: Steve Goad

For our second post featuring beautiful raptor art, we turn our eye to Steve Goad. Hailing from Texas, Steve makes his living as a full-time artist and has worked quite a bit in the video game and publishing industries. His body of work includes still life, landscapes, and charismatic renderings of comic, sci-fi, and fantasy characters, but our focus here today will be on a his lovely raptors.

Red-Tailed Hawk, © Steve Goad. Shared here with the artist’s permission.

Freedom Haze, © Steve Goad. Shared here with the artist’s permission.

Golden Eagle portrait, © Steve Goad. Shared here with the artist’s permission.

To follow Steve’s work, please like his Facebook page, follow him on DeviantArt, purchase high-quality prints at Fine Art America, and of course head over to his professional website. We’d like to thank Steve for allowing us to share his work here and for also bringing his artistic talents to bear in these gorgeous renderings of birds of prey.

Raptor Art Spotlight: Claudia Hahn

Birds of prey inspire awe in us, and that awe often finds expression in works of art. Indiana Raptor Center’s Nashville headquarters are a virtual art gallery! To celebrate our appreciation of and respect for artists who create inspiring raptor art of all sorts – from felting to mixed media to comics to illustration – we’re beginning a regular series of artist spotlights here at our new website. Illustrator Claudia Hahn has agreed to be our first subject.

Claudia is a native of Germany, but now calls England home. She describes herself as “an enthusiastic fossil hunter and birdwatcher, a lover of owls,” and can even boast that she once “was the brief owner of a pet magpie.” She is especially interested in working on conservation projects, stemming from her deep appreciation of natural history. This love of the natural world comes through loud and clear in her work, as you will see in the selected pieces below.

First, we’ll start with a couple of owl species we’re well-acquainted with in the midwestern United States: the Barn Owl and Barred Owl.

‘Twilight in the Highlands,’ original oil painting by Claudia Hahn

‘Barred Owl,’ reproduction of a painting by Claudia Hahn

Claudia’s anatomical studies are as enchanting as her illustrations of live birds, as in this study of a wing.

Reproduction of ‘Bones,’ anatomical study by Claudia Hahn

Naturally, she also focused on raptors exotic to us, as in this incredible portrait of a Red Kite.

‘The Red Kite,’ original painting by Claudia Hahn

We hope you’ve enjoyed Claudia’s work and will follow her on social media: follow her at her artist website and portfolio, as well as on Twitter, Facebook, DeviantArt, and Tumblr. Even better, check out Claudia’s Etsy Shop where you can purchase originals and/ or prints of the works I’ve shared here and many more works that explore other facets of the natural world.

All images in this post © Claudia Hahn and used with her permission.