Bullocks Oriole in Watercolour

Bullocks Oriole - Watercolour

One of the most colourful birds I've seen in the Creston Valley is the Bullock's oriole which I have spotted, in the past, on the dikes near Duck Lake. A challenge for me in painting birds is finding non copyrighted reference photos. Fortunately my quilting friend, Patty and her husband are birders and they have some great bird photos they were willing to share. Patty places oranges outside for the birds to feed on and obviously they enjoy them.

 

This bird is only a portion of a larger painting. Well actually, there are five smaller paintings making up one larger painting--a new style for me. The colours are interdependent and as you will see in following posts. I primarily painted with a yellow, orange, and  red, harmonious colour scheme with a little complementary blue for liveliness. Watch for the rest of the painting in further posts.