Poured as a water scene, the piece sat without bird for many months as I dropped fish and rocks into the scene. Originally there was to be a fisherman's boat floating in the bay, but no matter how I visualized it, the composition didn't seem right.
I decided to add a bird from above to try to give depth to the piece, but it was another month before I was feeling brave enough to start working on the bird stencil, as feathers are intimidating to paint.
A paper drawing was made, and then snipped out to be used as a spray-paint stencil in white, over which paint pens and acrylics were layered on to create feathering and shadow