Our State bird is the red Cardinal; the flower is the Dogwood. I wanted to include the female and painted the mother in the nest dropping worms into the open mouths of the Hatchlings. One larger hatchling is to the side awaiting the father's food. With Cardinals, the Male shares in feeding the young, protecting, and the extra duty of keeping the nest cleaned out by carrying away the offspring's BMs, any accidents, and any waste. I had a circular canvas, 16" by 16", so I painted a border from imagination--somewhat abstractly. Later I may have sketched lightly; then, I painted the scene and female Cardinal with acrylic and the male Cardinal with water-soluble oils. Learning in the last two years that acrylic doesn't go over oils well, but oils (traditional or water-soluble) go over acrylic fine, then I painted the whole scene (except the border) with water-soluble oils. (I hope to spray later when dry.) I did minor work on the background circling, other, and resized. The father is on his way, mouth open and no doubt calling out to his family as well as carrying food for the stay-hungry little ones.