These ruby-throated hummingbirds visit our nectar feeders all year long. In the summer, they’re as sleek as any picture you typically see. They click territorially at us and anything else that enters their backyard. The way they move does not look like bird flight, with the straight line darting and sudden stops and starts.
I painted this one the way they puff out in winter, like all birds do to stay warm in their feather-airspace parkas. Photos of hummingbirds in parka mode never make it into the calendars or magazines, though. Kind of a shame. I think they’re extra cute as puffballs.
I mostly followed Lachri’s hummingbird tutorial over on her YouTube/Patreon, from whom I’ve been learning a lot about realism and specific medium usage. Using my metallic watercolors for painting rather than calligraphy was a new one, and worth considering other ways to incorporate them.
This one was a gift for my aunt, and I really should start on the piece I’m giving her this year.
