This piece is very special to me as it was drawn %100 plein air while sitting with this eagle named “Shasta” in his outdoor inclosure. His story- Shasta had been shot by a poacher as an adult and lost part of a wing. He was therefore non releasable and became an ambassador bird for an education center where I used to work in CA. Shasta used to be very fearful of humans and never trusted anyone. I decided to start sitting with him in 2008 when I fist started to get serious about becoming a falconer as a way to help birds of prey. I continued to sit with him 1-3 hour every single day for 6 years! Eventually we became very close, after many hard times and hundreds and hundreds of hours. One thing that I noticed helped me break through to him was when I would sit and draw! I drew many pictures of him but while worked on this piece over a few weeks he began to come closer to me and eventually he started getting comfortable sitting right beside me on a stump as I sat or kneeled in the gravel. My legs and feet were painfully asleep from lack of movement (he would be very agitated when I moved) and my fingers were freezing. But suddenly as I was drawing on this piece he began to preach his feathers and he stretched out his wing and the primary feathers of his good wing came right over my lap and covered the art and I froze in place as I realized he was completely relaxed! I knew then that I had gained his trust and we had many fond memories that followed!

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