Least Bittern Pair ~ "Shoreline Spirits" ~ Watercolor Spring Birds conversation-starting original from my Songbirds

conversation-starting original from my Songbirds & Friends collection

scanning the horizon

This kestrel pastel painting captures North America's smallest falcon — a bird no bigger than a robin that hunts with the ferocity of a hawk ten times its size

The warm grays and russets of the sandhill's plumage were built through wet-on-wet washes

This common redpoll watercolor painting captures a winter finch from the far north

Least Bittern Pair ~ "Shoreline Spirits" ~ Watercolor Spring Birds conversation-starting original from my SongbirdsThis least bittern watercolor painting captures the smallest heron in North America a secretive marsh bird that most people never see. Least bitterns live deep in the cattails, gripping vertical stems with oversized feet and freezing in place when threatened, bill pointed skyward, body swaying with the reeds. They're masters of disappearance. This painting shows a pair in a rare moment of visibility. I painted this freehand on archival cotton rag