American Robin on Crabapple Tree Painting: Transparent Watercolor & Time-lapse Video

American Robin on Crab Apple (7x10 inch Transparent Watercolor) — American Robin on Crabapple Tree (10×7-inch Transparent Watercolor)

American Robin on Crab Apple (detail from 7x10 inch Transparent Watercolor) — American Robin on Crabapple Tree (detail from 10×7-inch Transparent Watercolor)

I suppose this is truly a Michigan painting, since it combines our state bird and state flower in one work of art.

I really enjoyed working on this project. Robins are common enough to be overlooked by most people, but I try to study them with binoculars at least a few times every year. It never disappoints. Despite their sedate colors, they truly are spectacularly beautiful.

This time-lapse condenses 8 hours of painting into about 8 minutes. That doesn’t include any of the time spent photographing, sketching, transferring and masking off the paper.