Magpies are so colorful and so full of chutzpah that painting this bold bird was a joy – trying to describe the metallic blue and green plumage, the natty black and white effects, the long tail, and putting the magpie into an abstract green and yellow background was enormous fun. This piece was juried into the 2003 Birds in Art international exhibition, which is quite difficult to get into (only 30 to 40 U.S. painters get in each year).