So how do I find feathers to paint? The short answer is everywhere and anywhere. I have a beautiful little jay feather with its distinctive blue bands. I found it while taking a walk in the neighborhood and painted it for a friend's birthday. The tawny feather in this painting came from one of the many chickens at Calder Dairy Farm in Carleton, MI, as did a few others that I have floating around my studio.
But I rarely find any random pristine clean feathers of any kind lying about in winter. And the cold makes my whole body ache, so I'm not likely to go on any feather scouting outings any time soon. I'll have to make do until spring when I plan to check out a local bird sanctuary, assuming it's open by then. Perhaps I'll paint that pretty jay feather again while I wait for spring.
The birds are indeed still singing. They just seem to be hanging onto all their feathers right now. If I had only feathers to keep me warm, I'd hang on to them too. Wouldn't you?
Be well and stay warm out there!
Jan
P.S. If you like, you can go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0TXYiXfl_s to see the 1 minute video of this morning's drawing.
