Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus). 11 x 17″ Gouache on paper.

Over the past three years my study has revolved around the Gyrfalcon, as I’ve pursued my Master’s of Raptor Biology degree at Boise State University. In May I completed my degree and finished my thesis. At the moment, I’m doing field work in Alaska with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a few different bird projects across the state, but I’m also working on getting my Gyrfalcon work published. As my work gets published (hopefully) I’ll be sure to share links and a brief description of what each paper details.

While in school I did my best to be actively illustrating and painting birdlife. I’ve painted a number of different species over the past three years, but I’m left with the feeling that I did not paint my subject species enough. I suppose this feeling indicates that I’ll need to regularly return to painting the Gyrfalcon. I’d like to illustrate some of the concepts detailed in my research, but for now I decided to paint a simple head shot of the Gyrfalcon as a cessation of my “structured” work on the species. Now the page turns to a new chapter, the subject of which is unknown to me but I get the feeling it may be quite broad.