Red Squirrel

My latest for the collection of our local wildlife, a red squirrel. My sister took the photo from her flat window and I really liked the composition of the twigs and the animal on it - Shame she could only take this one photo before her cat decided to chase it away!

Sorry for the bad photo quality. I normally scan my paintings, but it still needs drying. It wasn't easy to take a photo without any reflections of the wet oil paint yet still showing the gold. 

Oil & gold patina on cold press paper, 6" x 9"

Unfortunately, there are not many Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) left in the UK. Their numbers have decreased drastically in recent years, a decline associated with the introduction of the North American grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). The grey squirrels population appears to be able to out-compete the red squirrel population: The grey squirrel can carry a disease, the squirrel parapox virus, which is deadly to the red squirrel but won't affect the health of the grey squirrels. As well, grey squirrels can digest acorns, the red squirrel cannot. Most british woodland consists of oak trees, therefor it is much easier for the grey squirrels to find food.