Enchanted Feathers
en·chant: verb 1. to fill (someone) with great delight; charm. 2. to put (someone or something) under a spell.
This is exactly how I feel about watercolor - filled with great delight, charmed and under it's spell... I love creating projects that are all about letting watercolor be watercolor - letting it flow, move and captivate in it's ethereal beauty.
Join me on this enchanting journey of creating feathers in my unique style. We'll travel through different techniques I use to achieve richness of color and that flowy feel. Come find your flow with me!
This course is a 'pay what you can' offering.
There are many ways to feel and receive abundance and my hope is that we all connect with that energy and allow it to flow.
Please contribute what feels right for you and your situation.
I receive in love and ask for the circle of abundance and inspiration to flow for us all!
Thank you for supporting my work. I hope you enjoy this class!
You can support here:
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SUPPLIES
I am very big on using what you have - the basics are really the best! Here are the basics of what you'll need:
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You will need watercolor paint, of course! Any brand, tube or pan set, will work.
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Watercolor paper - use what you like. I will be using 140lb cold press paper by Arches, but I do encourage you to experiment with what you have or what is available in your area.
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Brushes: I recommend a variety of 'round' watercolor brushes - sizes 8, 4 and 2 are what I will mostly be using.
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For adding 'enchantment' (decorating feathers) I use a variety of markers and pens, use what you have!
DRAWING FEATHERS
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Draw lightly - don't press too hard
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Don't listen to your perfectionist! Allow for mistakes - some drawings you'll like better than others, that's NORMAL. Also - once you start painting and adding enchantment (decorations) you'll hardly remember how much you didn't appreciate the drawing in the beginning.
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Challenge yourself to draw a page full of 'thumbnail', small feathers - it will get your creative juices flowing!
TECHNIQUES
This first video will help you to understand how to get that perfect consistency of water on your paper to allow the color to flow. It's worth watching before we dive into feather making and will really help you in all your painting adventures!
Now let's paint feathers! This first set of videos will show you the techniques I use to create texture and visual appeal in my feathers. In each of these videos, we'll be using only one color to get comfortable with the techniques. Once you practice these, you'll be ready to 'fly'!
STRIPES! This video will use the same flow technique, but in a more controlled way - to create stripes!
Paint vs. Water Ratio - this little gem will help you understand how to decrease the intensity of color without messing up the flow!
BURSTS! This is one of my most favorite techniques!
Putting the techniques together...
Now that you've experienced the techniques - it's time to put them all together to create magic in your feather designs! When I paint, I typically use all these methods together as you'll see on the videos on this page. Feel free to bounce around these videos and you're welcome to go ahead and adventure into the 'enchantment' area too! You've got all the tools you need now to soar in your paintings!
Color is an important part of learning to paint - and learning how to use color is a class in and of itself! But, here are some basic tips to get you started.
This is a basic color wheel:
You probably already know the primary colors: Red, Yellow and Blue. Adding two primary colors will give you a secondary color, for example, blue and yellow make green. Understanding this will help you when we start adding decoration.
Without getting too in depth - here are some other handy tips:
To avoid 'mud' - avoid using opposites of the wheel. For instance, combining blue and orange will more than likely make mud, or a lovely shade of brown ;)
BUT, don't be afraid to experiment!
Adding white watercolor paint doesn't always work like you hope it will... It can gray the color out and make it more opaque, losing that beautiful transparency that we love about watercolor. Using it to mix is tricky work. If you want a lighter shade of a color, use water to lighten it. This will keep your colors vibrant.
Mixing a little black into some colors can make beautiful results! Experiment!
This next video will introduce you to using more than one color in your feather paintings.
In this video we'll create a 'Fire and Frills' Feather - Using warm, fiery tones and adding 'frill' to the base to give it that feathery look.
This feather would also look incredible as an ICE feather... using cool blues and greens! Go ahead and give it a try!
More is better, right?! In this video we'll create DOUBLE stripes...
For even MORE fun - break your feather up into even more sections!
Don't forget to PLAY! The best way to learn is to play with your paint...
Adding Enchantment...
I love adding a little 'meaning' to my feathers, using colors, shapes and sometimes even words. It adds a little magic and intention into the whole process. It's ENCHANTING :)
*Create a feather for a friend filled with meaning - you don't even have to tell them what it means - unless you want to!
*Are you an avid reader? Make yourself some special feather bookmarks - I sometimes put quotes or poems on the back of my feathers that I've found in my reading.
*Add a feather to a wrapped gift!
*What other ways can you think of to add enchanted feathers into your magical life?!
The next video will show you how I paint the stem of a feather and how to 'glaze' - which is the process of adding wet watercolor on top of dry. You'll love this technique for adding designs to your feathers!
Once you start, you just can't stop! Decorating feathers is one of my all time favorite activities. Paint pens, gouache, gel pens and pretty much any kind of maker are great tools to use for decorating your magical feathers...
Be sure to cut some feathers out... I have no idea why, but the process of cutting them out is so gratifying! And it makes them look... WOW! Such a simple thing, but big impact.
Here's one that I created with colors that make mud ( I like to play in the mud sometimes!) I reminded myself that it's okay to mess up, and in the end I really loved this simple little feather - I added a poem that I like to the back...
You've got it...
All the techniques to create beautiful, enchanted feathers! I really hope you've enjoyed class, I so enjoyed creating it.
If you feel inspired by this class and would like to financially contribute to support the creation of more magical things, I so greatly appreciate it. You can help support my classes and offerings here:
Or here. THANK YOU!