I love cardinals, and when I saw this one when I was visiting the zoo to take some wildlife shots (he was hanging around, almost tame, let me get within a few feet of him) I decided to do his portrait.
I have learned some interesting things about cardinals over the years. Their feathers are red in part because of the carotenoids that they get in their diets, from fruits and berries. They are beautiful birds, and this one was fun to paint.