I paint with acrylics on watercolor paper, using the process of layering the paint and scratching back to reveal unique colors and textures in my paintings.
 
Cardinal in the Tree -I've done many dove and crow paintings with the sun or moon in the scene and I got the idea to try my hand at creating a similar whimsical painting of a songbird. I chose the cardinal since I felt like using bright red paint.
We have a couple of cardinal couples that hang out in our yard. One late afternoon while in my husband's upstairs studio, I looked out the window and saw a beautiful cardinal high up in a tree branch, this surprised me because I hadn't realized just how tall particular accent tree had gotten. I planted 15 years ago and it has tripled in size.
With that scene in mind, I started the painting. I know that many people think when a cardinal appears it can symbolize a dead loved one is thinking of them.