Elf Owl — Gallery Canvas Vertical Glen's willingness to study and

Glen's willingness to study and paint species from outside his home territory reflects a scientific discipline that extended beyond nationalism: he painted the species that interested him

his heron paintings — of multiple species — are among the most technically accomplished in his bird catalogue

the clearing sky above

A male American Goldfinch at peak summer plumage launches from a thistle — wings spread

the streaked rufous of the head and neck

Elf Owl — Gallery Canvas Vertical Glen's willingness to study andThe world's smallest owl perches on a saguaro cactus in full bloom the bird compact and round eyed among the cactus spines, a saguaro flower just to its right, a small beetle visible on the cactus surface below. This 1973 watercolour is Glen at his most naturalist: the elf owl, the saguaro, and the Sonoran Desert flora are rendered with the same observational precision he brought to his Canadian subjects. Glen's interest in wildlife was never limited