Today I finished the Ode to SteamPunk Tufted Titmice. The birds themselves turned out to be a little bigger on the canvas after all was said and done. They need ornate frames to complete their look. I am not sure how sucessfull they are, but I like them all the same. Steampunk doesn’t have the same effect in 2D. The animals don’t look like previous interpretations of the same birds. I like the metallic contrasting backgrounds. Inspiration: Laura, the veinte decaf coffee drinker was wearing a gorgeous titmouse cardigan. With help from Turkish Coffee. The addition of the gears was inspired by the Steampunk crafts I saw on BoingBoing.net. The Stripes in the background were originally inspired by a blue-striped towel and a painting I wanted for the bathroom to match. That painting is painted over, but the striped layering still affected the texture of the painting and helped me realize the fun of that pattern for this new series.