Why and How

It's a cold, wet, dreary gray day in December and I'm looking out my kitchen window watching the birds at the bird feeder and thinking about painting.  A Titmouse is at the feeder and immediately I know why I love to paint!  It excites my senses to see this beautiful dark feathered little bird with a tuft on its head and lovely orange colors under it's wings and cream colored breast feathers.  In the same way that is excites me to see a beautiful bird or any number of interesting or beautiful things, it excites me to paint these things, also.

So how would I paint the Titmouse?  I would paint an impression of him with a long handled bristle flat, establishing the lights and darks quickly while working to get the shape  and colors of the bird, but not painting every feather.  Then I would quickly establish the background, painting branches and leaves to put the bird in a natural setting.  To make the bird believable, I would put his bill, eyes and feet in with a fine brush and a little bit of detail.  One step I left out which is important when painting birds, is to take a very good picture of the bird, since birds won't be still long enough to paint.