The Red Headed Woodpecker is native to Illinois. Someone my wife and I know loves birds. She left it up to me to surprise her on what kind of bird to paint. I decided to go with this species because it’s native to the state where we live. I went with two different wood planks glued together for the canvas. The right side where the bird is perched is Cedar and on the left side is Pine. You can see the color and grain difference of both planks. I wanted to showcase most of the natural wood with it’s knot holes and grains. I really kept it fairly simple and added a small painted area on the left and a crack on the right with a long vine with some leaves. All in all I’m pretty happy with it, and I hope the person my wife and I know is happy with it as well.