Josh

My attempt at a Yucatan Vireo (Vireo magister) based on a photo on the BOW account for the species. I often encountered this species while conducting fieldwork for my master's thesis, studying the Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris) in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve and on Isla Cozumel. I even found a few nests, which formed the basis of a manuscript that I just submitted. Working on that manuscript and thinking about vireos made me want to try painting one, and this piece is the result. This sketch/portrait is the first time I've produced something in color that I was pretty proud of. For a long time, I've found making art in color daunting, probably because I didn't have the patience to experiment more and find the exact effect I wanted. I always dislike the resulting texture of colored pencils and never wanted the mess of other painting media. Liz's art and this class have shown me the media I was missing: watercolor. I still want to refine some techniques and pick up more tricks of the trade, and I'm looking forward to tackling more projects. I have my eyes set on a Greater Ani group portrait in the near future :) Thanks, Liz!