Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ "Little Wonders" ~ Watercolor Framing:Unframed Bold contrasts and intricate details

Bold contrasts and intricate details honor their quiet strength and patient focus as they wade the tides

Wet-on-wet washes let those tones blend naturally

earning them the nickname "warden of the marshes

Pastel gives me a tactile quality that watercolor doesn't — the pigment sits on the surface

Barn owls have a face like no other bird: that heart-shaped disc

Ruby-throated Hummingbird ~ "Little Wonders" ~ Watercolor Framing:Unframed Bold contrasts and intricate detailsThis ruby throated hummingbird watercolor captures the only hummingbird species that breeds in eastern North America a tiny jewel that crosses the Gulf of Mexico nonstop during migration. That's 500 miles over open water on wings that beat 53 times per second. The ruby throat gorget flashes red to black depending on the angle of light, and I wanted this painting to catch that shimmer. I worked freehand on archival cotton rag paper with Kissho Gansai