A Sparrow Flies in to say Hi

"Sparrow"
Photograph

"Sparrow"
Watercolor

Well, the cat is still hiding somewhere so another little bird emerges, this time a sparrow. I had taken this photo while the bird was nestled into the twiggy bushes. I had my zoom camera and was able to take the photo without disturbing the creature. Today I decided I wanted to paint from the photo so enlarged the photo on my computer screen, took my paintbrushes and started painting on paper. A bit of a challenge as the computer screen picture kept fading in and out. I suppose I could have printed out the image, went into my studio and painted it there. Nope, too much in the moment, or maybe too lazy, who knows. The painting above does not look anything like the sparrow photo, although that was my initial mission. It has no feet, and the bottom kind of flows, impressionistic style. But it does look like it's wearing suspenders, is is possible that my husband wearing suspenders is seeping into my artistic subconscious? Well, nevertheless, I was running out of steam, so maybe that's why detail (depicting every feather, for example) was tossed. But I'd like to think I was just going deep into the "zone", where reality disappears. Hm, maybe there really is something about painting from your own photos. It did feel freeing, I was experimenting more, and I was reliving that day when I took the photo, happy to be communing with nature. All in all, my senses were totally in moment when I painted it and time flew. My bird menagerie is becoming quite the family and I promise I will keep you safe from predators. If you promise not to chirp at night when I am trying to sleep! A deal?