This is my first painting of the year. I actually had 3 in various states of completion, but this is the one which got done first at the end of February. It was expressly done for an online art show called "Awakenings" at ebsqart.com, with the them of spring being nature's awakening after winter. The bird is a Philadelphia Vireo, which is related to the more common red-eyed vireo and lives in woods, where wild crab apple trees are often found on the edges. It's done in Graphitint pencils with some of the base colors in a thin acrylic wash. The whole picture, even the preliminary drawing, went very fast and I was pleased at how it turned out. It's titled "Brandywine Blossoms".
The two other paintings are a small one of coyotes in a rocky landscape and a Cooper's Hawk in winter. I was having trouble with the coyotes, so I've been concentrating on the hawk for the last week or so. I've never painted that particular species, so I've been being careful. There's also a preliminary of a European brown bear that I've been struggling with, but hopefully will get resolved soon.

Though I'm part Irish, I don't get drunk and party on this day, but I do listen to Irish music, watch an Irish movie(or at least one with Irishman Pierce Brosnan in) and have a scone or some sort of Irish type food, usually a potato. lol