Patience

I live near the American River and frequently see egrets stalking their prey. I am always impressed by their incredible stillness and patience. This is what a wanted to portray.
I used a watercolor underpainting. For the background, I lightly dragged some pastels over the top to enhance the colors and create the values to set off the egret. On the egret, I tried to use just enough color to indicate where he was in shadow and where the sun was illuminating his feathers.