Winter Mist - Great Horned Owl

Although they normally hoot at night, this particular day was so dull that a pair of them were actively flying and hooting outside our house. This vocalization accounts for the thrusting pose with the throat patch fluffed out. At first I painted this bird on a large interesting stump. However, in spite of the hours spent doing the texture of the stump, it gave the bird a posed, almost stuffed look. So I scraped down all my work and put in the diagonal branch to give it a dynamic thrust. The clump of beech leaves at the top of the picture is to emphasize the same effect.