I've worked in oils mostly. Underpainting and several layers of glazing and opaque medium and lighter patches. The film of paint is very important, adding to the mystery. The white egrets are among my favorite birds, so I keep them in my work, indeed.
Managed some stairs, but it was pretty hard to fit a terrain to it. Probably easier to make a 'terrain object' next to it.
Here's another one of my paintings.