This year our committee have given us some talks and demonstrations that stray from the usual variations on stitching. Some of the skills we have seen have certainly stretched our boundaries, and this talk was no exception. Rosemary Storm has been painting on feathers for many years, and brought along a comprehensive display of her work. She explained how she got into it, how she collects her feathers and the great variety of bird feathers she uses. She prepares the feathers by spraying them with anti-mite spray, that is all the preparation required, and the finished works do not need any varnish to protect them. Rosemary works in acrylic paint, and after painting a white silhouette of her subject onto the feather, she then builds up the painting in layers. She paints birds, other animals, and commissions, one of which was a pheasant feather painted on a feather!All the paintings are of course miniatures, a skill in itself.
She then invited one of the audience to paint alongside her, which offer I took up, and we painted blue tit together. While this was going on her husband Jim gave an interesting talk about the properties of bird feathers and he had had many display boards of beautiful feathers from around the world.It was a very interesting talk, an example of the kind of art you don't see very often, and was much enjoyed by everyone.
Rosemary can be contacted at
www.featherfinesseart.co.uk
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| the raw materials |
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| the blue tit I painted along with Rosemary |
