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There are always plenty of these little yellow American Goldfinches flitting around our backyard during the summer months, as they enjoy the bird feeders and bird baths that we set out for our feathered friends. 
But, for some reason, I'd never tried to paint any of these goldfinches from life. So this afternoon I set up some plein-air painting supplies on our patio table, overlooking a bird bath and nearby tree, and waited for some goldfinches to visit.
My goal was to try to paint a "looser" watercolour than my usual style, as this is something that I've been working towards for a while now. I want to paint my impressions of nature and wildlife, rather than taking a photographic approach to these scenes...
I used to do some nature photography, and I don't want my watercolour paintings to at all resemble my photographs!
Painting these birds from 'live models' is quite a challenge, as these little creatures don't stay in one place for more than a few seconds, so I'm happy with this first attempt.
This male goldfinch isn't quite as bright as when it was in direct sunlight, as it was perched in the shade where its feathers appear to have a more muted yellow-olive cast. In full sun, at the bird feeders, these birds are such a bright yellow that they seem to glow.
I'd have loved to paint another few birds today, but my CRPS rare disease decided that one was enough.
Living with chronic pain - or any other chronic illness - often means having to pace oneself, and learning to 'pack up' from activities sooner than you'd have liked to.
In this case, the occasional spasms and tremors in my right hand and arm started just as I was finishing up this male American Goldfinch - so I'm happy to at least have had the time to get one watercolour wildlife sketch done.
And, as I so often say: "There's always tomorrow!"