In the rain

When the sky is dark, small birds become interesting silhouettes, tiny forms simplified down to a flurry of feathers. I've attempted to draw these birds many times but when I've tried in the past I seem to end up getting lost in details - wings, beaks, tiny claws. When I add these details I no longer have drawings of silhouettes and the drawing, in the sense of what it was supposed to be, is a failure. For the last few days it's been somewhat rainy here and I've been watching birds flying back to wherever they go when the weather turns warmer. Once again I found myself longing to draw birds against stormy skies. Since past attempts at this didn't go very well, I decided a new approach was in order. I simply drew a picture of clouds in the style I've been using lately and then drew some really simple sparrows over the top. Keeping the birds to flat color helped keep me from deciding to add just one eye, one feather shape, etc and getting once again lost in details. What I began years ago, is finally finished. Ahhhhh.