"One of the creatures most commonly associated with life on the west coast is the notorious bald eagle. You’ll find them almost anywhere soaring about in search of food or perched in a high tree, or along a coastal stream hunting for salmon. Bald eagles are iconic and beautiful, but a rather eerie bird. There have been times as I’ve been hiking old growth forests in the winter when the trees fade into the misty, dark, humid coastal air and everything is draped with an iridescent green moss only to look up and see an eagle lurking in the shadows.

Here I’ve depicted a bald eagle up in a western hemlock among a stand of old growth with an eye out for his next meal. This painting at times was very frustrating, but at the same time very fun. In order to be accurate, I literally walked the forest and pulled very old hemlock branches off trees that fit the picture in my mind. I then brought them home to hang off my easel to render. I wanted to create a mood and feeling. The one you often get while in very old forests in winter. I wanted the viewer to instantly feel that dark, damp, cool coastal air that you often feel when immersed in these types of forests."
- Joshua Hansen -