Painting 14 - Yellow-Headed Blackbird

(The preliminary sketch - sorry about that evil eye. Eew!)

Today I felt like doing something a little different, a little looser, a little more spontaneous for my painting. This past weekend, Paul and I slipped down to Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge for another dose of nature. The yellow-headed blackbirds were still in control of the cattails. Many of this spring's chicks had fledged, sporting a hint of next year's brilliant plumage. They joined the bright yellow males on the reeds. Yellow-headed blackbirds are one of my favorites (is there a bird that isn't a favorite!?) and their images in my mind were just begging to be painted.