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Many of my collectors and followers enjoy seeing the process behind the painting so I decided to share that with this recent painting I just finished of a Bewick's wren.

It all started this spring while I was out for a walk in one of our local habitat areas. I heard this little wren singing, but couldn't see him as Bewick's wrens are notorious for hiding in thick vegetation. However, they are rather curious so I made a few "pishing noises" and the little guy hopped up onto an open branch to see if I had something more to say. I was able to get several good photos, but really liked this pose with the tail up and alert, which is often typical for wrens.

This was the image I started with, but I felt that the branch going through the background was quite distracting. I put the image in a Photoshop program and played around blurring the background and softening it. Then I started my painting by airbrushing the background in.

The next step was to do the texture of the branch. I really liked that the branch was covered with some brightly colored lichens and had a rough bark. I accomplished this texture by using paint applied with sponges and glazes to add depth. It's a somewhat messy process, but also quite fun.

This shows the very first layers of the bark and lichen.

Here you can see the branch is mostly complete and I've started to block in the wren.

Starting to add shadows and detail to the wren.

And here is the final piece. I really enjoyed the process of creating this curious bird and also the lively bright colors of the lichen and background. I hope he may brighten your day!