Saker Falcon - Study

My next thesis painting will explore the relationship between the saker falcon and falconers in the Middle East, so I decided to do a study of the saker falcon before starting the full painting.

I decided to try a technique I haven't done before, which is to cover everything - even the figure - with the background wash, and then to go in and paint the details, using white gouache for opacity. I know it breaks the watercolor 'rules,' but I figure in illustration, you can do what you want.

A couple of close-up details can be seen here: [link]

_{Watercolor and white gouache on Arches cold-press watercolor paper, 8X10 inches}