This Barn Owl study continues an ongoing series of British birds paintings exploring their energy, movement, and place within the natural world. Along my walks on the southwest coastline, this owl in particular has remained elusive, glimpsed rarely, which is part of why I keep returning to him. In this piece, the owl is caught mid-focus, his attention fixed on a mouse below. I wanted the painting to hold an intensity, built through broad, gestural brushwork in acrylic, with detail emerging with fine detail emerging around the eyes and beak.