"Goldfinch in Summer Garden" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

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I am what you call a lazy gardener.  I don't have the patience or time to trim all the deadheads. As it turns out, that is what good environmentally-minded gardeners do.  Look at the goldfinch in the reference photo below.  It is eating the seeds of the spent coneflower in my tired summer garden!

In case you are wondering why the colors are so different between the picture above and the step-by-step photos below, here is the answer.  I took the final image of the finished painting in natural light and Photoshopped it, whereas the step-by-step photos were taken with my smart phone in my studio under artificial lighting.  The painting looks very close to what you see above.

Reference photo

I just laid down the transparent underpainting.  No opaque colors or whites are used at this stage.

The second step is done.

I edited out the coneflower right below the bird.  It looks better.

I like the circular movement of the flowers.  Time to firm up stems, some flowers, and the goldfinch.  Then I will be done!