Say hello to Bonnie! Plus WIP

Life changes when you bring a new pet into your life and make a commitment to take care of this precious pet. Most of my readers know that Bonnie flew into my life about a week ago. She stayed close to my yard and it took four days to capture her. I say 'she' because after doing some research and talking with a breeder I have concluded my little Budgie is a four year old female. My friend Julie gave me her cage she was no longer using so all I had to do was fill it with feeder cups, toys, and perches. Hours were spent at the pet stores making decisions on what to buy and not buy. Not having a clue what this Budgie might be used to eating or playing with has made this whole experience a guessing game. So far we are doing fine and Bonnie seems to be adapting along with Lily my cat. Now we are all in training and setting boundaries. Once I feel confident and Bonnie feels confident with me I'll close off the upstairs where she stays with me in the studio and let her fly. Lily will stay downstairs on these occasions. Life is always changing and you never know who or what will appear when you least expect it.

My graphic work has really slowed up and I am trying to remain confident we will make it till Don graduates this August and finds a job. On a good note we made the final payment on our car in May. On a bad note someone hit my parked car at the grocery store and did not leave a note. Just one more thing to deal with.
I keep telling myself to paint, sketch, and get busy finishing my web site but somehow I find distractions. Having this sketch and layout of the Loggerhead Shrike on my studio desk has helped so you get to see a work in progress. My first sketch can be seen here. Next step was transferring to canvas coated with clear gesso and masking out some of the branches below the Shrike.

The first layers of watercolor laying in the background.

Starting to paint the Shrike.

Adding more detail with more photos and the finale project in the next post.