Searched for a bird on pixabay as it’s a site I like to peruse.. Took on board about looking for one with a simple background and found this handsome Dark Eyed Junco.

As I don’t have Photoshop, I followed along using Affinity Photo and with the selection tool, painted over the bird - clicked refine and tidied it up. Clicked the output to a new layer.

I then cleaned him up using the pinpointing tool to get rid of random snowflakes.

Clicked “Live Adjustment Layers” Median Blur 7 px and then went off piste.

There were a few processes I couldn’t follow using Affinity Photo but I improvised a bit .
I chose a light blue background and added an overlay of paper to give him more of a textured look.

He’s more posterized than painterly but I still learned a lot about pattern making- thanks Helen.