Snowy Egret IV ~ "Oh, to Fly" ~ Watercolor Framing:Unframed Common redpolls are Arctic-breeding finches

Common redpolls are Arctic-breeding finches that wander south in unpredictable irruptions — some winters they flood the northern states in thousands

This green-crowned woodnymph watercolor captures a tropical hummingbird that looks like it was dipped in liquid emerald

The rose-breasted grosbeak's chest triangle is one of the most startling reveals in birding — from behind

The iridescent greens and blues were built through layered wet-on-wet mineral pigment washes

revealing aspects of plumage and personality that the first study doesn't show

Snowy Egret IV ~ "Oh, to Fly" ~ Watercolor Framing:Unframed Common redpolls are Arctic-breeding finchesThis snowy egret watercolor painting captures the most graceful of all white wading birds. Snowy egrets move like dancers quick, precise, unexpectedly nimble for their size. They shuffle their bright yellow feet in shallow water to stir up fish, and they strike with a speed that makes herons look slow. "Snowy Egret IV" is the fourth in a series of studies I've made of these birds, and each one teaches me something new about painting white. A white