More songbirds

After yesterday's cedar waxwings, I've made a commitment to try to paint without blending! (Blending is when you rub in several layers of pastel together with your fingers or with a blending stick.) When one doesn't have many colours of pastels blending is pretty essential, but I have enough colours now that most blending is unnecessary. In addition to wiping out the nice visible pastel strokes, blending also dulls down colours and makes them look muddy. So these two bluebirds were both done with a minimum of blending! I am fairly pleased with them. :)

Bluebird I, 2008 soft pastel, 3.5 x 5 inches, $25 unframed

Bluebird II, 2008 soft pastel, 3.5 x 5 inches, $25 unframed