Mr. & Mrs. ‘O’ by Fiona Phipps

Love your little story Fiona, which elevates your painting to another level. So charming and I love the chemistry between them that you have managed to portray.

Beautiful painting Fiona.

Lovely work Fiona.

Thus is excellent.I love it

A superb painting and what a delightful story!!

Good colouring Fiona, looks natural.

What a lovely little painting Fiona! Love how you’ve described those feathers in a loose way. So good!

Brilliant, just love it !!!

Love your oystercatcher Fiona! You have done very well to get the colours especially the darks. Fingers crossed for chicks this year!!

This is really good Fiona , you have captured the birds exceptionally well , love the texture of the feathers .

Lovely work Fiona.

Super painting Fiona, you've done well with three primaries and white. The texture of the feathers is so well done.

Beautiful work.

It’s very good indeed… the limited palette, the composition and the style of painting… what more can I say, well done Fiona!

Love this Fiona you've caught the attitude nicely

Great observation skills Fiona and thanks for your info.

Love this duo so hope they eventually hatch a brood

It’s a lovely story and it’s obvious from your painting how much it means to you Fiona.

Thank you everyone. I’m glad you like Oscar & Olivia, they are complete time wasters, I can’t stop watching their antics……stop me from getting anything done! Thanks again, you are very kind.

Can only agree with all comments, fabulous painting Fiona

Love this one x

A charming story and a lovely painting!

How lovely.

Brilliant painting, love the connection between the two. The extra information adds another dimension, I do hope they manage to have chicks this year. Wonder what goes wrong?

A lovely painting and story Fiona.

There is a dialogue between them just like any married couple. Lovely work.

Russell, Diane, Anne, Maureen, Sandra, David, Nick……many thanks for your encouraging comments. I did enjoy painting this pair, as you say Nick, they really are like a married couple! Oscar is very attentive, they share the sitting and protect one another like warriors. Sandra, there’s quite a few predators here, crows, magpies, fox, and badgers, I think the eggs never get to the hatching stage! If they are successful, I will try and get sketches of the chicks.

Missed this Fiona. Delightful painting and back story.

Thank you very much Christine.

Wonderful painting, Fiona!

Cesare, many thanks for your lovely comment.

Beautiful work Fiona

Thank you very much Petra.

This is so good Fiona, hopefully they'll manage to raise a chick this year.

Hope so Val, thank you.

Great story Fiona, and painting means more by the telling of it. Nicely done.

Thank you Trevor, really appreciate your comment.

Fiona, this is a captivating example of contemporary naturalist painting. Your use of sketches and photos has clearly allowed you to capture the "comical" yet protective essence of the birds. It is a beautiful testament to the resilience of nature that you’ve observed over these four years.

Lea, thank you so much for your observations. I think this pair are a testament to the optimism and general hardiness of the animal kingdom. Thanks again.

Your piece of personalised narrative together with your friends nicely painted Oystercatchers have certainly generated much interest. I particularly like the way light has appeared to catch the breast of the bird on the right. Did you know the collective noun for Oystercatchers is either a 'parcel' or a 'stew'. It may generate more conversation if someone can say why.

Your feedback is very interesting Philip, especially regarding the collective noun. I’ve tried to find out how the term was generated, all I can find is that they were called ‘sea pie’……the pie I think refers to the black & white plumage. They do have other localised names across the uk but nothing suggests any clues. Thank you for your input, very much appreciated, and glad you like the painting. It was an exercise in white isn’t white and black isn’t black, if that makes sense.