Up, Up And Away! : Bird Painting by kto ART

I confess, I got this idea from my friend Kris. She told me I needed to paint a Fattie Birdette trying to lift-off for the first time. This little Fattie is a Red-Breasted Nuthatch. I wanted to make his wings small compared to his fluffy body and I love how he looks like he's wearing bloomers. Most times when I'm composing a painting, I am drawing from real life, pictures and my imagination. For live birds, I just take a peek outside (we have a lot in our backyard all the time) or I'll go for walks, etc.  Pictures include the ones I take, but I admit I google specific birds that I cannot readily see to study their shapes and color patterns. The imagination part is the hardest, only because I will have a great idea and not have anything tangible to reference. For "Up, Up And Away!" I wanted my little Nuthatch to look like he is trying really hard (but with a smile), and you don't see that too often in real life or even in pictures... It's a more human thing, So what do you do when you can't find what you're looking for in real life or the internet? You use yourself, and that's what I did (see picture below)... Problem solved!