When I opened the window this morning, while sipping coffee, I had the sensation I was at the beach. Unlike many other parts of the country, our weather in the TN valley has slipped back into moderate temperatures, 60's (F) in the day and 40's at night.
For the past three days we've been deluged with rain, soaking rain. But on this overcast day the wind took center stage, ebbing and flowing, sometimes whispering for an instant, then roaring through the tree limbs like an ocean tide. You can feel the air changing. We have colder temps promised and snow in the forecast, so I went out to get some bird feeding supplies. More on that later.
It was also a perfect morning to play with paints. Over the past week, I have sketched the
golden-crowned kinglet that I photographed in my yard. The nice thing about drawing is you don't have to have a perfect image, just a good reference for shapes and habitat. And while I sketched, I rediscovered how much I enjoy drawing. I forget sometimes when I'm away from it and then I reconnect with what keeps me coming back to it over and over again.
I used my sketchbook to get an idea of the values and colors I wanted to use, to see where I want to place the darks and lights. I tried different mixes of colors, too, so that when I begin on my watercolor paper, I'm warmed up and have a better idea of where I'm going.
This is a second sketch of the kinglet on watercolor paper taped to a backboard and ready to paint.
Just last month I saw my first ruby-crowned 
When I do this, I'm never disappointed. And this cutie was on the move! I could hear her "see-see" call but it took some concentrated effort to locate her. Even when I knew where she was, much of the time she was obscured by pine needles.
I love that bright yellow crown!
I assume this is a female unless their plumage changes in the winter. Anyone with more knowledge of this species, feel free to chime in.
