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. 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  estrella 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/20.....ss-part-1.html
Part 2: http://featherseeds.blogspot.com/20.....ss-part-2.html

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