Cedar Waxwings are undeniably gorgeous birds. I’ve sketched them many times, but this is only my third time painting one. I think this is my favorite so far.
For a long time I tried to invest in painting subjects that I hadn’t rendered before, and I avoided multiple paintings of the same type of bird. Lately I’ve decided to just do whatever is currently capturing my interest. If it happens to be a repeat, who cares? Cedar Waxwings certainly are worthy of repeated investigation! The most I’ve painted a given species depends on how you define your numbers. If you count each individual bird in a painting, the record would definitely go to Common Goldeneye ducks. I once did a painting with 89 Common Goldeneyes in the background. I’ve also painted flocks of White Ibis, so counting that way would probably make them come in a distant second.
If you count not by individuals but by the main subject of my paintings, then the top number probably goes to Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets or Belted Kingfishers. I’ve revisited each many times. The long necks of those wading birds really are fun to work with compositionally, and Belted Kingfishers are just awesome birds to look at; they also seem to have extroverted personalities.
Every March or April Cedar Waxwings come to the American Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum) shrubs next to our garage. I like to pull out the garage window and shoot tons of photos unnoticed and at close range with a 400mm lens. What a thrill! I have a large backlog of Cedar Waxwings images that I’d like to paint.
Please contact me if you’re interested in buying the original watercolor or a print of this painting. Some of my work is also available for licensing.
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