Wild at Heart Illustration: Love Byrds

Hello April! Spring has arrived! The warmer weather is coming and so is a very special event. My friends Jeni and Kenny are getting married at the end of the month! Yay!!! Last month I had finished a piece for the couple as a wedding shower gift.

Jeni's new last name will be Byrd. So of course the bird/Byrd word play was perfect. The couple's favorite bird is the peacock. They received several gifts decorated with the gorgeous peafowl and we used feathers and bird cages as part of the decor.

I had envisioned the peacocks facing each other and forming a negative space or hidden heart. I kept the female true to nature with her coloring and less vibrant feathers. I toyed with the idea of a white peacock but decided to keep my natural pair. This piece is 18x24 inches and done with oil pastel and color pencil.

The peacock colors are amazing!!! I loved using the rich jewel tones. I defined the smaller feathers first. This piece involved a lot of color pencil for all the fine lines of the longer tail feathers in the background.

The shadows were mostly done with purple to make the bodies of the birds stand out more. I always tell my students, don't shade with black. Black = Flat. There is a variety of textures in this piece that adds a rich tone to the already regal birds.