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Writer's pictureTracey Bengeyfield

A little fancy feather for Christmas!

With Christmas in mind, I would just like to say the biggest THANK YOU! to each and every member of Tracey Bengeyfield Art.


Whether you are in the UK or further afield I can't tell you how much it means to have you in my little watercolour community! I really appreciate all of your support ~ especially those of you who leave your cosy homes and take the time to join me each week in person ~ it really amazes me that so many of you keep coming back for more!


This new tutorial will be the first of some mini tutorials which I am planning for 2024 ~ these mini tutorials will follow a similar format and can be added together to produce a page of nature studies. Alternatively you could combine different elements to create cards, gift tags or other painting compositions.


In this first mini tutorial I'm going to introduce you to drawing and painting a pheasant feather from direct observation (this is the fancy term for drawing from real life). Although I realise many of you might not have access to a real pheasant feather ~ (if you do, a gold star to you!) I hope that you will be able to see how to tackle a drawing from scratch (this includes if you need to work from the photograph provided ~ which is the next best option).


Drawing from scratch rather than tracing an outline drawing will really help you to improve your observational skills and consequently your drawing and painting will improve too. When drawing I’m going to encourage you to look really hard at the feather and not only think about the overall shape but the proportions too.


Once your drawing is complete we will layer colour wet onto dry and then add the fancy pattern on top. To achieve a sense of realism we will really look at how the values alter across the shape, and then alter the paint accordingly. To find out more about this project, take a look at the little video below.



To complete your feather painting you might like to add a little Christmas magic! Take a look at the Finishing Touches Video to learn how to add some sparkly metal leaf.

 

I hope you can find a little painting time over this busy period ~ it really is a great way to calm your mind in what can be a very hectic time. With that said, I wish you a peaceful, magical Christmas.



Tracey x

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