Feathers

Perhaps it's because I've been consciously looking for them, but recently I've seen so many feathers scattered over the ground on our dog walks. I can't blame Poppy, our lurcher,  as she likes to stay in sight of us [unless a hare distracts her of course] so I know she's not responsible and happily pick them up to enjoy the sheer beauty of their design and colouring.   How intricate they are! From soft willowy wafts of white down which then become strong shining flight feathers which interweave in a complex way to make the perfect wing.

Watercolour and pencil

 

 

I suspect this is a duck's feather as it was found by a large man made pond on one of our walks but there were so many types of wildfowl on it that I couldn't even begin to guess what sort of duck.

 

Watercolour and pencil

 

 

A collection of feathers which took me three days to draw and paint because they are so intricate but what a pleasure it is to do when it gives you the chance to enjoy yourself at the same time as closely observing something so beautiful.

 

After straining my eyes for several days I decided the next blog entry will be something completely different in terms of size! It's a long time since I've done a print and Val has inspired me to get going again after seeing her work on the lovely moth, so it's back to the drawing board but this time with something larger in mind.......