Like many, I have a love for owls and found the inspiration for this painting during one of my frequent visits to an old barn on a close friends property.  The old barn is full of wildlife including bats, barn swallows, and mice.  The barn owl in this painting has his eye on a small mouse sitting in the rafters near a haystack.

The barn owl is a farmland bird that is currently under threat due to loss of habitat, hazards such as land development, and accidental poisoning by pest control poisons.  Tree cavities, barns and old farm buildings provide the majority of nesting sites.  The loss of these structures through demolition and conversion has resulted in the loss of nesting opportunities for this species.