Harlequin of the Cattails

The Yellow Headed Blackbird has intrigued me for a long time. They are beautiful and obnoxious. They are very territorial. My problem was finding them. They are common, but not where I was looking. I was either in the wrong place or wrong time of year. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a small pond last spring that had about a dozen or more of them. They all had their territories staked out and were guarding their little piece of cattails relentlessly.

This piece was inspired by that experience. I love the contrasts in this painting, warm and cool, light and dark. The colors are pure and exciting, capturing the early morning spring light reflecting through the cattails. The new spring growth contrasted nicely with the old, winter worn cattail heads from the previous fall. I loved the way the old heads were going to seed and creating puffs of cotton, capturing the light.