"Red Partridge"

The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is recognisable by its white mask ringed with black. A bird of dry hillsides and vineyards, it is one of the most hunted species in southern Europe.

Only the head, in very close-up, slightly to one side — the eye is the true subject. Round, ringed with a thin orange band, it looks upward with total attention. The intention is to give this common game bird the treatment usually reserved for great animals. The pencil renders every feather of the mask, every reflection in the iris.