This Large Tyto Grass Owl (Tyto Capensis) was created for the “Tyto Wetlands Centre” in Ingham North Queensland. I was approached by the project designer to create a monumental scale work for the entrance of the centre. The idea behind the work was to capture the essence of the Hunting Grass Owl as it descends on its prey. This work was a huge challenge.
Trying to get the anatomy of the owl correct, without being able to see a live grass owl as they are much less common than their counterpart the Barn Owls, who have much shorter legs. I went to the Museum Of Tropical North Queensland to view some specimens and took a great deal of measurements.
The other thing I did was to contact Australia Zoo, who were the only ones in Queensland at the time with a live Grass Owl in captivity, and they were kind enough to send through some video footage of their owl being fed and this was of great assistance.
My grade 4 primary school teacher Alan Gillanders is a wildlife enthusiast and runs some spot lighting tours in the far north. Alan has been really helpful to me with several of my projects over the years.
Unfortunately there were several road kill victims that also played a role in helping me create the work.
Creating these types of artworks is a huge education in itself, every time there are new skills to be learned and more knowledge to be gained.
I hope you enjoy these works.
Photography by Amanda Feher and Giuseppe Vizzone
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