What is Feathering?

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The meaning of feathering and how to master this technique

Author: Spotted Canary

Feathering is a painting technique where the edges of two colors are blended with small, distinct brush strokes. As you fill in an area, draw little strokes of one paint color into the edges of another color to create a jagged edge.
Feathering lends itself to many different subjects—from creating a reflection to giving grass a “spikey” look. Whether you use it to create a small tuft of grass or a large reflection in a lake, the technique of feathering is always the same. Look at the picture on your box to determine which color appears to be going into the other color.
It may seem complicated at first, but feathering is really easy. Let’s practice a small area, okay? The best place to practice painting techniques is the back of your canvas board. Don’t worry—once you frame your design, these practice areas won’t show.


Step 1: Turn your canvas board over. If you’ve already started painting your design, be sure your board is completely dry. You may want to lay a couple of paper towels under the board to protect any areas you’ve already painted. Draw a square about 1".

Step 2: Now split the square in half horizontally as shown here.



Step 3: Paint the upper half of your square with a light color, such as blue or white.

Step 4: Paint the lower half of the square with a darker color, such as green or brown.

Step 5: Using small strokes from the lower half to the upper half, create the look of “spikey” grass or wheat to soften the edge between the two halves of the square. On your practice square, the horizontal line you drew is solid, but on your canvas board the feathering areas will appear broken to show you where to use this technique.



Without feathering


With feathering