It took three layers to get the pigment up to the right strength at the top. I used a watery mix of the cooler grey and pink/grey to indicate shadows on the paler part of the feather. I started with a very pale wash of my flamingo pink mix leaving the paler areas free of paint. Plus, I thought to myself, how am I going to paint those tiny little strands! The top part has lots of furls and creases and the colour faded gradually down to almost white at the bottom. I saved painting this feather until last as it was my favourite one and the most striking in my composition. Again I used some iridescent paint towadd shine. Note: the photo of the feather appears much darker than in real life. I created these deeper shadows by working in between the whiter wisps, this is called negative painting. I added a very pale glaze of Transparent yellow to warm the underneath pale wispy feathers. There were some deep shadows where it twisted and for this, I used stronger versions of my pale cool grey and beige/grey. I started by adding pale washes and then built up the colour gradually. The curved feather had awkward angles and so I had to make sure the drawing was absolutely spot on. When re-mixing the Flamingo pink I had to test it a few times as the mix would look different with the slightest change in quantities. You’ll notice on my swatch that there is a slightly duller looking pink which I used for shadows and stronger details, this was mixed using Sennelier Rose Madder Lake (SMRL – Permanent Rose could be used instead), Winsor Orange (W.O) and Cadmium Yellow Deep. I also use some of this pink to make my pink/grey. Some other colours I mixed were various pale greys, a pink/grey, a cooler grey and a very pale yellow using Transparent Yellow (TY) mixed with a tiny bit of the Flamingo Pink I had mixed previously. Please note: I would most likely use Quinacridone Magenta and Indian Yellow. I prefer the translucency of transparent pigments. Today (2022) I wouldn’t use these pigments as they are both opaque and Opera Rose is unreliable where lightfastness is concerned. After a few trials, I found that Winsor & Newton Opera Rose (OR) and Cadmium Yellow Deep (CYD) gave me the rich bright orangey/pink I needed. To begin my painting I had to match the beautiful pink of these feathers. Here are the Flamingos at Birdland in Bourton on the Water, Cotswolds. The red/pink feather colour comes from a diet of crustacea and algae. They feature in cave paintings in Spain (5000BC) and the Egyptians used them as a symbol to indicate the colour red and even regarded it as the living embodiment of the sun-god Ra. Flamingos have been know to man for thousands of years. These tall wading birds are called Phoenicopterus and the feathers that were sent to me are from the Greater Flamingo species Phoenicopterus roseus.
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