Snowy Egret IV ~ "Oh, to Fly" ~ Watercolor Framing:Unframed I used Kissho Gansai pigments

I used Kissho Gansai pigments from Kyoto on archival cotton rag paper

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

I let the brushwork differentiate them — one slightly higher

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

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

Snowy Egret IV ~ "Oh, to Fly" ~ Watercolor Framing:Unframed I used Kissho Gansai pigmentsThis 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