Bob Cairone Graphite Drawing

Red Shouldered Hawk

There's a story that goes along with this drawing, a day in the life from the view of the hawk itself. You can read it here.

All these predatory birds have an intensity and conscious awareness that has always fascinated me. This is one of my largest hawk drawings, as I didn't like to make things larger than life size at the time. This hawk has an impatient, hungry look to it. When I begin drawing a hawk, I typically do the eyes first, finishing them to a high degree of detail before I move on to the rest of the picture. This way, if I'm not happy with the way the eye looks, I can start another drawing with less lost effort. And if that critical part turns out well, the rest of the drawing usually follows suit. This drawing turned out very nicely, and I am quite happy with it.

Prints of this drawing are available at the full 11 x 14 " size for $40. If interested, please drop me a note.

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Broad Winged Hawk

This picture is a striking portrait of a Broad Winged hawk in strict profile, just as he is touching down for a landing on his hunting perch. It was drawn with a lot of sharp detail, as befits the distinctive markings of this magnificent creature. However, when working on the drawing, I treated each small section as an abstract design, concerned mostly with the relationships of the contrasting shades with the patterns that surrounded it. That approach led to a very different working attitude than I normally use.

One last print of this drawing at 9 x 12 " remains for $40. Contact me while it's still available.

If you've enjoyed this piece, please consider sharing it with your friends.

Soaring Osprey

I got a little playful with this drawing, and turned my signature into the fish the Osprey is about to have for dinner. In the print version of this image, the corners have been faded to white, leaving an oval vignette which follows the top contour of the Osprey's wing. Most people consider this work to be very peaceful and calming.

I still have a few prints of this drawing available at $30. If interested, please drop me a note.

If you've enjoyed this piece, please consider sharing it with your friends.

On The Wing

This drawing used to be titled Ray's Hawk, named after the person I made the drawing for. But too many people would comment that they'd never heard of that kind of a hawk before. So I renamed the drawing to avoid the confusion, since the species is actually a red tailed hawk.

Private Collection.

The Aerial Knight

This is one of my favorite hawk drawings. The title is a reference to my interest in chess, and I've always enjoyed seeing hawks about. When I draw a hawk, I want it to be more than just documentation of a specimen. It's more like a portrait, as individual and with as much character as a painting of a person. I try to express the intensity in the gaze of the hawk, and if the hawk is shown in flight, I want the viewer to be able to sense the wind in the bird's wings, and the hunger in it's talons. If I can share with the viewer that kind of perception, then I think the drawing is a success, a real work of art. I won third place for this work in a Long Island art show, which surprised me. First and second went to large, gorgeous oils, and deservedly so. Black and white graphics rarely do so well in competitions with colored works.

Private Collection.

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine is my favorite species of hawk. They're natural cliff dwellers, and do quite well in cities with tall buildings and large pigeon populations, like Manhattan. I always looked, but when I lived in New York City I never saw one. I had fun with this drawing, adding some streaks of guano visible beneath the bird. When I framed it, I used a little white and brown paint on the frame to extend the guano beyond the picture plane. Sometimes, this get curious looks from the viewer at first, but it's usually followed by a smile.

Private Collection.

The Watchful Hawk

This picture is a portrait of a red tailed hawk on it's hunting perch, waiting for lunch to show up. This was my first hawk drawing, done when I was home from work, sick with the flu. I was getting very restless after a few days of inactivity, so when I was finally well enough to sit up and stay focused on something, I looked for a project to do that wasn't too much exertion. In this work, I was experimenting with hot pressed paper, which I found much too slick for this kind of work. It produced a polished finish, but didn't allow for crisp detail. Still, I liked the result, and this work became the ancestor to a whole series of hawk drawings.

Private Collection.