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Painted Feather - Phoenix
Published: 2007-05-22 01:22:12 +0000 UTC; Views: 13359; Favourites: 423; Downloads: 273
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Description
A painted feather commission for ~kyouzamashi-ryouko . She wanted a feather with a phoenix. Of course, I was quite happy to do this one, being a bird fanatic and all.
I decided to go for the more traditional idea of a phoenix, not as a bird made of fire, but rather one that bursts into flame at the end of its life, and rises from its ashes anew.
This was my first attempt at painting on a large turkey tail feather, and I must say, I rather like these.
And, in case anyone is interested, I'm still having the painted feather commission sale. Please see my journal for details: [link]
Acrylic on 15 inch turkey feather
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Comments: 64
insanely amazing value!!!!! and amazing lines! so good!
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Those wings are gorgeous.
Is it difficult to paint on feathers?
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It's not difficult, it just takes a bit of practice. The hardest part is getting the first layer of acrylic on, since you have to be careful not to part the vein of the feather. A light spraying of fixative gives it a bit more strength, though.
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The detail is absolutely amazing - I love those wings and the colours of the whole phoenix.
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wow you are very talented, must have taken alot of patience to do all that detail, stunning!
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The phoenix is perhaps my favorite mythical creature, but that aside this is stunning. Your attention to detail while working on a feather (and even a large turkey feather is surely still challenging) boggles my mind; I wish I could have your patience and dedication.
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ON the feather?!
no way. that is wicked. i wish i could sit and watch you do it, it must be absolutely painstaking. the results are so worth it though
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It's not as difficult as it sounds. 
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it's so impressive. i can only imagine the patience needed, haha
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you painted that on a feather. omg! wow, the very fact that you managed to paint on a feather boggles my mind. You are very talented.
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Thank you
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no way that is real. i love it. i love the canvas
the vibrant colors are amazing
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Beautiful...A great illustration of a fiery bird which comes forth from the Ashes, the Beautiful Phionex... Well Done! Excellent Work!
Could this Phionex be Fawkes? Albus Dumbledore's beautiful bird friend? It is certainly possible.
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Very unique! You've done a great job for such a tough painting surface!
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+this is just gorgeous.
lol
mindboggling.
so i'll just fav it now, and think of a worthy critique later.+
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Gorgeous work! The colors are just beautiful as well as the details
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Thanks! I've been meaning to try my hand at getting the feeling of 'heat' with paint, and what better subject for practice than a phoenix?
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I would love to talk to you because Your work is fantastic and I have a bird thing to. I have wing tattoos on my back, CobaltandCalcium does some work with me and I think there is a picture of my tattoo in his gallery, but anyways we should talk. My AIM is freshcitruscent. Message me sometime.
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Nicely done, can't wait to try that one out! acrylics right?
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Yep! Acrylics are the best medium for feather-painting, I think. Oils would take too long to dry, not to mention they'd probably damage the feather something fierce.
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when you begin to paint on the feather do you prep it before hand? like someone told me to put gloss on the feather before the image, is that a good idea? or is there something else i should do. you see i recently did my 1st feather painting and i didnt prep the feather at all, i just started to paint the feather in the image i wanted. is that a good proces or not? and one more question, do you have to layer the paint on the feather to get it manageable? cuz thats what i had to do for mine, it was really annoying work i must say.
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You don't have to prep the feather beforehand, but spraying it with fixative makes it easier to paint on. Fixative is a clear spray that is used to keep charcoal/pencil/pastel drawings from smudging. When you spray it (lightly) on a feather, it keeps the barbs from seperating as easily.
As for layering, when I first started off painting feathers I didn't layer. I would just paint thick, and I ended up with feathers that had a 'choppy' texture for the painting. Gradually I started painting with many thin layers, and not only do you get a smoother painting, but it's easier to blend and get greater depth.
I hope this helps
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yes thank you. that really does help me alot, ill be sure to use it when i paint my next fether
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Oh wow! 
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Wow! Such amazing detail! The lighting is wonderful as is the coloring.
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This is beautiful hun. I really think you should do more of these.
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Absolutely beautiful! You do such elegant bird work.
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Gorgeous bird! You are not the only bird fanatic. 
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GOD thats brilliant!
I am amazed at the level of detail you get on such a small canvas!
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Very beautiful & I love Phoenixes. Very stunning and U feel its warmth.
I have 2 hawk feathers that I brought with me from Cortez, Colorado when I got back home from a 3-week long Archaeology camp in 2003; do you any tips on how to paint them with arylic paints? *I'm so RUSTY! 
One of my characters' has the name Phoenix & he's 1/2 Arch-Angel (dad; Michael-The Sword of God) & 1/2 Nagi (mom; Merri).
Phoenix has a younger fraternal twin sister named Sunlight.
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Ooooh careful... possessing feathers or any other part of a bird of prey is illegal unless you have a permit or governmental permission (such as being a member of a Native American tribe). You can get in big trouble with the law if someone finds out you own them. In fact, owning any migratory bird feather is illegal in the United States.
I would highly suggest using turkey or goose feathers to paint on, as they are nice and big (and legal!). You can get them from lots of sources, though I would recommend getting them from a farm that has turkeys and geese, instead of an online store that kills them just for feathers.
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I know & it was a gift from one of the staff at the camp there. I hadn't had any problem with them before. I know that the feathers are from a hawk native to Colorado. True, but it's not a migratory bird. (I can take a photo of them so u can see them if u want too?; everytime I look at them I think of Cortez, Chaco Canyon, & Mesa Verde. They're very pretty.) I'm a bird lover too! 
Okay and I've seen turkey feathers being painted on before in Arizona, and they are very pretty & big (and safe!). Okay then and you got ur turkey feathers as a gift too, I'll look into it, and I wouldn't buy ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
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Ah, well if it was a gift from the staff, then they must know what they're doing.
I would love to see a photo of the feather. I'm not sure what bird they're from just from the description, but seeing the feather would help me figure out what bird it belongs to.
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Hm, they were were nice & knowledgeable people, I'd LOVE to go back & visit with them again.
Sure, I'll try to post 2 of the best ones on my DA gallery for u to see. I've taken 4 photos of the hawk feathers today; 2 from the front & 2 from the back. I know it's from a Colorado hawk but i don't know what type of hawk though, same here.
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I've always been a great fan of your work, particularly on birds, but the fact you squeezed in that much detail on a FEATHER just stuns me into drooling zombified silence.
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Heheh, well I'm flattered
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Aw, c'mon. Everyone loves zombies.
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oo this is gorgeous Brenda. I love the contrast of the dark bg and bright bird. He seems to have an inner light all his own.
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Heh, my dad saw it while it was a work in progress and said it looked like it was glowing.
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You must have a very steady hand, being able to paint so clearly on a feather.
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