A while back, I painted a feather by accident. I was trying to paint a sunflower and the center bled into the background. I tossed that version to the side and finished a different one. Every time I looked at that “mistake,” I saw a feather. Eventually I used ink to turn it into a feather. Since then, I’ve realized how interesting feathers are. They’ve been “hip” for a years – I know I’m not onto something new!

The other day when I was running I saw feathers lying on the sidewalk. I snapped a photo and later started painting them. I had a lot of fun creating the texture of the background. After I added the ink, I almost wished I hadn’t. I thought I may have ruined it. But, I added more watercolor and a shadow to the feather and it started to pop.

My Steps:

First I did a light outline of the feathers in pencil.
Then I worked on the background. I splashed and splattered.

After the background was completely dry, I painted the feather.

Then, I added ink to the feather.

I added more color to the feather and a shadow. See the final at the beginning of the post.