New work in progress - Chickadees

Of all the birds that come to my yard, my chickadees are my favourite. They are fearless no matter the size of the competition. So I figured it's time to paint them. First I started with rather a plain background. Greens and just a little rose colour.

Because I wanted the chickadees to be uniform in size (like they are in real life) I drew them first on paper and then transferred them with graphite paper.

I don't know why I always paint the birds first, but I like painting them first and then branches, trunks, leaves whatever later. It helps me to balance what I am seeing on the painting. These chickadees are pretty basic at this point.

Now to start filling in some details. The yellow on their breasts. Give them some eyes, paint the branch and give it some moss. Next I will do the blossoms and some detail to the feathers. Must remember to give the poor things some feet!