1. With a basic pencil sketch in place I begin with the water, working top to bottom, left to right. A lot of the work is done using my fingers to blend, I want a blurry effect for the back ground to make sure the birds seem further forward, as there is no 'grounding' for the mother bird which means I can't put the shadows which normally would suggest the position of the bird in the composition.

2. Adding the mother Tern's wing already starts to bring her forward over the blurry backdrop of the water.

3. I work around the birds as I go with the water. I want pristine sharp edges on the mother bird, to contrast with the scruffy little chicks. So I use my pastel pencils here as well as colour shapers to achieve the right effect on her head, body and nearest wing.

4. The colour shaper is a useful tool for several media. It's like a paintbrush but with a nylon tip where the bristles would be, pointed and shaped to allow one to manipulate the pigment quite accurately to form nice edges. Also good for applying masking fluid for watercolours, I also use them to help me with graphite pencil or charcoal work.
The finished painting here has worked as I hoped, plenty of depth and movement with the water and a good focal point of the mother.