Common Raven

• Sketches and Notebooks

Four Raven young fledged in the canyon, displaying their exuberant enjoyment of life with swooping, calling with baby voices, and cavorting as ravens do. Sadly, a power pole claimed two of their lives. Reverently brought into the studio, and I gathered the courage to draw them with objectivity and honor.

I have not had the chance to examine ravens up close. The first pencil sketches were for measurements and observation, followed by color notes and reminders for the future. The birds are now part of a museum collection, where they can inspire and inform others.

Although the color of the raven appears shiny black, a closer inspection revealed a color sheen on specific feather groups. In outdoor light, at a certain angle, feathers reflected cerulean blue, a purplish ultramarine, or olive-green along with the black. The open-wing study is not a painting of local color but is a color map that notes parts of the bird that reflects a particular color.

Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Pencil and watercolor on Canons Montval Watercolor sketchbook. 9x12”