You can add some depth to a paint job or a whimsical touch to your decorating project by using faux feathers when painting. Artists and home decorators use various types of feathers instead of paintbrushes and other paint tools to create dramatic decor on walls. Whether you plan to do a marbled look, a specific pattern, or a more freestyle type of decorating, you can use different feathering techniques to get the look that best suits your decorating needs.
Instructions
Basic Feathering Technique
1. Purchase a feather duster, goose feathers, or turkey feathers from a costume shop, hardware store, or craft store. For a laid-back, eclectic look you might want to use a feather duster, and for a marble texture, consider using goose feathers or turkey feathers. No matter which type of feather you choose, stock up on your supplies since you will most likely go through a number of dusters and feathers when painting an entire wall.
2. Prepare the wall by applying a base coat of paint. Select a paint color that is a different color from your base coat.
3. Dip your feather duster into your new paint, and then lightly apply it to the wall in any pattern you choose to test the paint. Some people prefer to apply a lot of paint while others prefer a minimal testing.
4. Test your application technique when making patterns on a wall by practicing on cardboard or some plywood before actually applying the paint to the wall.
5. Add several colors with your feather duster, making sure the paint is completely dry in between each coat, and then dip it into a new color and repeating.
Feather Marbling Technique
6. Paint a wall so it looks like marble, by using turkey feathers or goose feathers. Before painting, hold the tip of the feather between your fingers, pinching lightly. Run your pinched fingers down the feather from tip to stem. The feather should separate into separate clumps; when used to apply paint it will give a marbled look to a painted wall.
7. Prepare the wall by painting it a solid color over the base coating. Dip a turkey or goose feather into the paint you want to use for the marbling look.
8. Drag your feather across the wall making diagonal, thin lines. Twist the feather around making curls and swerves, and playing with the width of the lines. After the paint dries a bit, create more lines.
9. Use a feathering brush to trace over the veins, offering the illusion of subsurface veins in the marbling.
