Least Bittern Pair ~ "Shoreline Spirits" ~ Watercolor Spring Birds This diptych is the most

This diptych is the most ambitious piece in my Shadows of the Sky collection — a body of work that explores raptors and owls through pastel's unique capabilities

on archival cotton rag paper using handmade Gansai pigments from Kyoto

with warm browns and cool grays creating a dimensional quality that draws you in close

The warm grays and russets of the sandhill's plumage were built through wet-on-wet washes

Least Bittern Pair ~ "Shoreline Spirits" ~ Watercolor Spring Birds This diptych is the mostThis least bittern watercolor painting captures the smallest heron in North America a secretive marsh bird that most people never see. Least bitterns live deep in the cattails, gripping vertical stems with oversized feet and freezing in place when threatened, bill pointed skyward, body swaying with the reeds. They're masters of disappearance. This painting shows a pair in a rare moment of visibility. I painted this freehand on archival cotton rag