Cardinals at the Bird Feeder

How do you create movement on the canvas?

The girls in my painting group like to work on a common theme or subject.  Recently we've been working on cardinals.  

I chose this one because of the little gal that's still in flight.  I think she's the star of the show here, not the fancy red guy on the bottom rung.

Thanks to my neighbor Mary who takes such good care of her birds.  I snapped these photos in her backyard.






Here are some challenges I faced with this one:
1. Combining two photographs and using the best of each. 
2. Determining how to create the illusion of seeds without painting a thousand seeds.
3. Making it appear that the wings of the one in flight were moving.
4. Showing the glass of the feeder.

Click "Cardinals at the Bird Feeder" if you'd like to purchase this little painting.