Artwork--Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

After taking a lot of time to get the bobcat finished I wanted to do a small piece that I could complete a little more quickly so I could feel like I'd gotten something accomplished.  I have a number of pieces ready to go at any time--I get the images ready and the main composition sketched out so when I'm ready to start another piece I have several I can choose from, depending on my mood.

"Blue & Grey", 6 x 9, colored pencil on Bristol board.

 
I chose the gnatcatcher because I wanted to play around with some background, and I have the time (and therefore the mental space) to experiment this time of year..  I have done very few pieces with any background at all, other than a branch or tree that the animal is sitting on or clinging to, and I've never done any with a complete background.  This image was perfect, one that I shot on the final day of the Tawas Point Birding Festival this past spring.  It was cold, windy and raining, and the overcast made it quite dark out.  I had to shoot wide open to get enough light so the result was a very shallow depth of field and a blurred background.  I like that the cross-hatching is visible in the background as it gives the piece movement, and reminds me of the driving rain this little bird had to endure.

Any feedback you'd like to give--positive or negative--would be greatly appreciated!