Sparrow Plate

I made a group of dessert plates last October, and I'm finally ready to paint on them! I decided that small birds would be a good subject.

I enjoy watching and painting birds. These guys are the extremely bold house sparrows that hang around my workplace. They'll hop right onto your table as you're eating lunch on the patio! Last summer, I spent several lunch hours sketching them and later made this small painting in oils (18 x 24 inches). Incidentally, the lawn is well-maintained and does NOT have this many dandelions.

I used the oil painting as a reference for the preliminary plate painting.

Better add some purple clover and a stink bug!

The bird is a chipping sparrow: not as common as house sparrows, but still abundant. They eat seeds and the occasional invertebrate (run for your life, stinkbug!)

My favorite paintbrushes... They make lovely, flowing lines.

And my models... (Coming next: goldfinch plate)

And my bird collection at work. Dodo is my favorite.