a fleet of feathers

My installation piece framed feathers, for my upcoming solo show in just two weeks, is really coming together. Some smaller pieces still need to be completed, but I recently finished the largest piece for the collection, a fleet of feathers: a 16 x 20 canvas covered in all sorts of colorful feathers… I started with the background and created it by washing a deep grey watercolour across the entire canvas. Then, I added coarse salt onto it as it dried to get those wonderful airy, raindrop looking spots all over it. I then spent hours tirelessly painting and drawing feathers onto some rice paper I love. The backside I painted with a white acrylic, while the front side was drawn with all sorts of colored and metallic markers. When finished drawing, I cut out each feather by hand to get them all ready for the big collaging process ahead of me.I laid out all the feathers on the watercolored canvas and began experimenting with the composition – I knew I wanted it to have a bit of that scientific feeling (like when specimen are mounted on a board such as feathers, insects, butterflies, etc.) yet also was adamant that they be laid out organically enough to keep the piece from becoming rigid and static. I ended up drawing three more feathers to fill out some space, and I am quite thrilled with the composition of these 21 colourful objects. The feathers were applied to the canvas with a collage paste. Once dry and secure the entire piece was sprayed with a semi gloss to seal, protect and smooth the piece out. I am actually quite pleased with this new addition to the group! To be honest, I haven’t worked on a creation this big for quite sometime now; it always takes longer than you expect, but is that much more rewarding when it comes together in the end.I love the found frame that inspired this piece. It is one of the least tattered and slightly less kitschy than the others. I feel it does a real nice job complimenting this newly completed feather themed creation. What do you think?