Painting of Green Heron in breeding plumage using pastels

The rain and cold has kept me indoors lately and what better time than to finish the bird painting I had started a few weeks ago. With only just the branch left to do, I locked myself in the studio, put on some music (great motivator!) and grabbed my pastels. I may touch up the branch some more before framing the artwork but this little guy is pretty much "hot off the easel"...

Title: "Enchanted Moment"
Green Heron
Medium: Pastel on archival paper
Size: 13.5"x10"

To see more avian artwork, visit my website at http://www.colettetheriault.com/descriptions/paint1description/green_heron_painting.php

Heron legs and more...

My favorite part of this painting has to be the bright orange sunlit legs of the little green heron as  I don't get to use orange very often! They are such beautifully feathered birds and those legs turn bright orange as the birds mature. Splendid little birds.

Tonight's progress of Green Heron painting

I am really enjoying painting this bird's lovely and colorful plumage. The image scan appears darker than actual which is always a problem when scanning large sections with black pigment. I will be painting more compositions with a black or dark backgrounds because I can achieve a more dramatic effect. 

New wildlife bird painting on the easel

As an artist, it might surprise some that spending a lot of time on my computer is essential when preparing for my next composition. Before I can actually sit down and paint, I sort through the thousands of digital photographs I have taken and then sometimes need to combine and manipulate the images using Photoshop until a suitable pose is reached.  I also spend a lot of time out in the field, researching, collecting and taking photographs of whatever plant, animal or scene that might inspire a future painting.

The following work in progress features a green heron in breeding plumage. The reference photographs were taken while camping in St Augustine , FL. I would wake up early each morning before the majority of humans were out and about and when the creatures were still active, and left with 2 cameras in hand... I can spend hours in the field observing and photographing my subjects so loosing track of time is a common occurrence. The adult heron in the painting was watching over her brood which had fledged the nest and were perched hiding amongst the mangroves.