Saltmarsh Sparrow ~ "Songbirds & Friends" ~ Watercolor baby birds There's no correcting a watercolor

There's no correcting a watercolor once the pigment settles into the paper

and they carry that weight of time in everything they do

The facial disc emerged through careful tonal gradation

which celebrates birds whose presence commands the space around them

I worked freehand on archival cotton rag paper using Kissho Gansai pigments from Kyoto

Saltmarsh Sparrow ~ "Songbirds & Friends" ~ Watercolor baby birds There's no correcting a watercolorThis saltmarsh sparrow watercolor art captures one of North America's most vulnerable songbirds. Saltmarsh sparrows nest exclusively in tidal marshes a habitat that's disappearing as sea levels rise. Every nest is a race against the tide. These birds are quiet, secretive, and easy to overlook. But if you know what you're looking at, they're also remarkably beautiful: warm orange face, finely streaked breast, a wildness that comes from living at the