These Eyes – Original SOLD – Prints Available

Print available for this painting

Original Sold, Prints Available

These Eyes Owl Abstract. These Eyes have it. I have always been intrigued by owls and just love seeing them. I am fortunate to live in an area that I hear them often and do see them occasionally as well. After all, it is night; and they are a little hard to see in the darkness. I was surprised to learn there are around 200 different owl species. For, the owl is considered a wise, silent and solitary bird of prey associated with lunar deities – symbols of wisdom.

An owl is the wisest of all birds because the more it sees the less it talks.” – Christie Watson

Did you know that the owl’s eyes are quite unique? Well, I discovered some interesting facts about them. Owls have large eyes and a flat face. In fact, they can’t move their eyeballs because they don’t have eye sockets. Instead their eyes are shaped like tubes held rigidly in place by bones called sclerotic rings. In contrast, we humans with eye sockets have spherical eyes.

Additionally, owls are farsighted, meaning they can’t see things close to their eyes clearly. But their tube-shaped eyes provide binocular vision which fully focuses on their prey and boosts depth perception. Because owls can’t roll their eyes around the way we do, they have to move their entire head to get a good look around. Indeed, they frequently twist their head and “bob and weave” to expand their field of view. Owls can turn their necks about 270° in either direction, and 90° up-and-down, without moving their shoulders. Additionally, they have sensitive whisker-like bristles around their beaks to help them detect objects at close range.

An owl is traditionally a symbol of wisdom, so we are neither doves nor hawks but owls, and we are vigilant when others are resting.  – Urjit Patel

Owl Eyes are Huge

Furthermore, owl eyes are huge! An owl’s eyes can account for up to 3% of its entire body weight as opposed to human eyes that account for only .0003% of our body weight. In fact, owls are very quiet in flight compared to other birds of prey. But like all birds of prey, an owl’s eyes face the front. For this gives that great range of binocular vision as opposed to animals with eyes situated on the sides of their heads.

We all know that most owls are nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night. In fact, their densely packed retinal rods allow their eyes to be more sensitive and function best in dim lights. Also, owls have something called “eyeshine”. Eyeshine is a result of an animal’s tapetum lucidum—a layer of tissue behind the retina that reflects visible light. Indeed, this reflection dramatically increases the light available to their photoreceptors and gives them superior night vision.

A wise old owl sat in an oak. The more he saw, the less he spoke. The less he spoke, the more he heard. Why can’t we be like that wise old bird? – Edward Hersey Richards

So, my small 20” x 20” acrylic painting of this cute owl is titled “These Eyes” because the eyes seem to capture my attention and draw me into the painting. Finally, the owl’s keen sense of sight that sees through the shadows of the night teaches me to see past my own illusions and trust my intuition with my creativity and art.

Advice from an owl: stay focused, be whoo you are, trust in a wise friend, live off the land, glide through the dark times, be observant, because life’s a hoot!   – Ilan Shamir

Dare to Feel,

Red 

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