Red Tailed Hawk Card

For a while I've just wanted to paint a naturalistic raptor. No fantasy, no swirlies, just a plain old hawk on a plain old branch in a plain old forest.

After looking for some suitable paper, I found an old pack of Strathmore watercolor greeting cards I'd stashed away. Oh, this seemed like a good idea at the time! Unfortunately I had long forgotten the reason I DON'T use Strathmore paper, and that's because the stuff absorbs maybe 3 layers of watercolor, and then any subsequent layers rest on top. D: So if you try to put a layer over those, it simply drags back up your previous layer, no matter now delicate you are with your wash. Ughhh.

So in order to save the painting, I ended up switching to colored pencils. I think the result is pretty nice, actually. I wanted to do this entirely in watercolors, but oh well. Happy little accidents, I suppose. :3

The painting is also sealed with layers of fixative and liquid matte acrylic varnish, so no matter how sweaty someone's hands are, the painting is safe and sound.

This is also available on Etsy: [link] I figure someone may like to have it. Otherwise it will end up in a folder somewhere, all alone.

_{Colored pencil and watercolor on 5X7 cold-press watercolor paper}