This was quite a challenge! I don't think I've ever painted a peacock, much less in watercolor. I should point out - this is all watercolor, except for the wispy feather vane portions of the white feathers. I painted all the brown around the green of the tail feathers (note - a peacock's 'tail' isn't actually its tail! The 'eye' feathers actually grow from its back. They have a true tail beneath).

With watercolor, if you want to retain the brilliance of the color, you have to paint on the white of the paper. I could have used white gouache and then painted on top of that, but it always dulls down the color, and with peacocks, the colors are bright!

This is a commission for EstrellaPaintedHare on DA. It was a lot of fun to do, and I'm glad I had an opportunity to paint such a vibrant bird.

You can see the process of painting this here:

Part 1: http://featherseeds.blogspot.com/2012/04/piebald-peacock-process-part-1.html

Part 2: http://featherseeds.blogspot.com/2012/04/piebald-peacock-process-part-2.html

Watercolor and white acrylic on hot-press Fabriano, 8 X 11 inches