Baltimore Oriole and Plum Blossoms

I can't explain it but this is the first major Baltimore oriole I have painted since I did a little painting of birds in our backyard at the age of 14. Come to think of it, there are many, colourful, well-known birds I have not painted. In the case of this oriole, it is about time. Its cheerful, flute-like chirps are one of my many joyous memories of a childhood in nature. Upon hearing the bird, my eyes would usually go up to the branches of a tall, spreading elm. I would be looking for the deep, woven cup of a nest. Now the elms are virtually extinct due to Dutch elm disease but the orioles are thankfully still doing fine.