Here’s my dilemma. Do I create a bird portrait that looks as true to life as possible, or go with my instinct and imagination to express something deeper? The struggle comes once the piece has been sketched out and is still loose and painterly. For example, I’m currently working on a gannet, which a very white bird, but my favorite version of it was from a few days ago when it was in its pink undercoat state. Luckily, I have been taking pictures of the progress and it has occurred to me that I could have a giclee made of it at that stage and finish it as a pink fantasy by embellishing the print while continuing to make the original gannet white. 

The real question is am I a bird painter, or an artist who incorporates them as talismans and totems into my work? I think you know the answer, I certainly do. But sometimes it’s just about the paint.