Feather Size Dictates the Size of the Art / by Chris Maynard

Three Owls, ocellated turkey feathers 7x5 inches, 18x13 cm

Unlike creating art by employing imagination, brush, and paint, a bird’s feather always stays the same size. I want to create large works of art, but small feathers contain colors, shapes, and patterns not found in larger feathers. So with this size limit, I make smaller pieces, often calling them “studies”, as they sometimes lead to ideas for larger works.