Aren’t these antique bird cages beautiful? I spotted them in May during a trip to Terrain at Styers. This is the view into the cafe area. I spend hours in this shop every time I visit. There is so much attention to detail put into the interiors. It is very inspiring.

I am sharing the photo along with the painting to share with you how I work from photos. Sometimes, especially for commissioned watercolors, I paint a much more literal interpretation of the photo given to me. While other times, I use artist’s discretion and pull elements of the photo into painting, especially when I will be adding text at a later time. One of my tricks is that I scan the paintings as I add elements. For example, I am thinking about also adding the diagonal wooden column and the hanging plans to this painting, but I have scanned it already so I have a digital copy without these additional elements. This practice allows me to use the variations in the different related pieces such as in an RSVP card and an invite.

Antique Bird Cage Invitation is now available in the Hand-Painted Weddings Invitation Shop.