Lukie the Horned Owl

Lukie the Horned Owl - Refuge on the Roof, Acrylic on Museum Board on Panel, 9 x 12 inches, 2010.

Lukie the Horned Owl - At Christmas Time, Acrylic on Museum Board on Panel, 16 x 12 inches, 2011.

Over the years I have done quite a few whimsical pictures, mostly figurative tableaux, featuring chimerical figures -- animals, birds, sea creatures, even insects with human heads.  About a year and half ago I decided to revisit the idea and paint a series of pictures with chimeras that I could use in more than one painting, in other words, to create a recurring character that could be depicted in various settings, doing different things.   Thus were born what I call the faunafemmes, animals with women's faces,  It was a challenge to figure out what creatures lent themselves well to the concept and what ones did not, what could be rendered convincingly and what would seem too weird and unnatural.  The owl seemed a natural for anthropomorphization.  So here is Lukie the Horned Owl.  These are the two Lukie pictures I've done so far.  Refuge on the Roof is at Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee.  The second, At Christmas Time, I used this year as a cover image for a few Christmas cards I sent out.

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