Sue's work in progress

When you take a look at our AvesInArt website, you don't see much in Sue's gallery.  I'm trying to fix that - I've selected a few birds from our trip to Florida to paint.  First up is the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, one of my favorites from the trip. 

paper cut-out of the woodpecker

I've spent a huge amount of time working on the layout of the painting, where to put the birds, where to put the tree trunk, a branch with cones and needles.

The habitat for this bird is narrowly defined, so I'm placing it in the Longleaf Pine forest, with its savannah-like grassland dotted with Saw Palmetto.  Jorge's photos of the woodpecker and my landscape and plant photos will provide reference material.

Okay, so here are some "work-in-progress" snapshots of my fairly large watercolor painting.  As I add more to the composition, I'll post again - keep in touch!

My workspace.

Pine forest - savannah habitat.  I tried to capture the distant early morning haze.

Serenoa repens, (Saw Palmetto) the native palmetto of the pine forest.  I'm trying to simplify the growth habit, while still maintaining accuracy - when it works for me, I'll add it to the foreground of the painting.