Although Dark-eyed Juncos are abundant in Michigan, I never got around to painting one until now. I have taken plenty of reference photos but always struggled with how to show off these fairly “drab” birds. Their colors are not exactly thrilling when compared with something like a Painted Bunting, but they are spectacularly beautiful in their simplicity. Those subtle grays, soft browns and whites, with a barely pink bill are super-attractive, but figuring out how to best showcase that is tough.
After a lot of indecision, I thought it might be best to simplify the scene so the bird is the center of attraction. I usually try not to paint just a “bird on a stick,” as I call it, but in this case it seemed like a good way to put the focus on the bird and to keep it from competing with a busy background. Using my sketch, I did a bunch of quick color studies in Photoshop. I settled on a gray purple-pink-white fade. Once I was washing in the watercolor, I went with a more saturated purple-blue and pink, which I though would make the grays and tans of the bird pop more.
Other than the opaque white spatter snowflakes, this was all transparent watercolor. Spritzing in the snow at the end is a little stressful. I always wonder if I’m going to ruin an otherwise fine painting with a bad blob or two of paint. There is only so controlled you can get when you are flicking paint off an old toothbrush with your thumb! I got in the habit of scanning in the painting before the snow, just in case I ruin it.
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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