I'm working on another peacock feather painting, a little different to this one so I thought I'd share with you the steps taken to arrive at the finished result.

This is a technique I've invented myself over the years.  First of all I start off with a piece of wood as this is easier to cut the string on (as opposed to canvas).  I apply a layer of papier maché to create some texture but also to create a barrier as the wood is quite porous.

Once dry, I paint the base with acrylic paints. Then I can start to draw out the subject in chalks and start to work out the direction of the string.  For feathers this is relatively easy because feathers are like tiny little bits of string held together in any case. After this I can start to glue the string.  For this work I'm using cotton.

I will continue working this way to match the left hand side.  After this process I will apply a product which will seal the string.  Once this is thoroughly dry, then I can start to paint in the normal way using either oils or acrylics, it doesn't matter.  This one will be in acrylics.

Here's a guinea fowl feather I did earlier which is similar in shape to the one I'm working on.

I've been commissioned to do another artichoke painting.  This will be my fourth.  As this is such a popular painting, I thought it might be nice to share step by step how I achieve the construction of it.  Many people have asked me in the past and when I've sat working at exhibitions, I'm usually swamped with people wanting to see.  I realise that my technique is somewhat unusual and I can't now actually remember how I arrived at the idea.  I guess it's just been a natural evolution that has mainly stemmed from my love of textures. 

This is the very beginning of the artichoke. I'm working on a cotton canvas for this one although I often work on wood too.  I draw on 180gm paper the shape of the artichoke 'petals'. I then cut those out. I have to use a very thick acrylic glue which adds the relief.  I add a big blob of it on the petals and then position these on the canvas. I continue working like this until I reach the outside petals of the artichoke.  I will post another blog to show you the steps as I progress with the painting.