Cardinals in the Snow

Normally, the male Cardinal gets all the attention because of his bright red color, but, in this painting, I'm giving the spotlight to the female because she's pretty too. It's interesting to watch cardinals at a winter feeder. Males will chase each other off trying to mark the feeder as their territory, I suppose. I want to open the door and say, "Look, guys, there's enough here for all of you." The female will hide out in the evergreens, and while the males are chasing one another, she'll fly to the feeder. At other times, the male will stay back and let her go first.
In this painting, a new snow has fallen and the two cardinals have arrived to sit on some branches to watch the feeders full of birds flying to and fro. Once they've decided all is safe, they'll go to get a seed or two.

• This painting has been sold.