Brown Bookending Dragon Scales; Peacock Jacket Pt 3 - Finished Back

Ah, Monday. I wasn't feeling particularly sparkly today, so I did shiny instead, in the form of my dragon scale skirt. I wanted to wear my new-to-me furry cardigan.

We have been having snow warnings, so I also wanted to be nice and warm! 

• Cardigan - Karen Millen, consignment; purchased here for $40.00
• Sweater - Zara, pass along from Rae; last worn here in October layered under my Buffy dress
• Skirt - Strawberry Jill, thrifted; last seen here in November 2020 with a leather vest
• Boots - Rockport, thrifted; last worn here in September with a blue dress
• Coat (below) - Mallia, consignment; last seen here in November

With the cardigan off, but I left it on all day.

This sweater is really thin - I have a full vintage slip on underneath for extra warmth. 

I quite liked this sweater, especially the collar. 

It's lovely and soft and snuggly. 

It matched the boots perfectly - brown bookends! 

The skirt's cool, isn't it? You can revisit my outfits with it in Flashback (here) if you like - this is its 6th wearing (not bad for an $18.95 purchase!). 

Masked up - I matched the golden yellows. 

"You should let me in the hall."

Vizzini, it is not happening, dude. 

Outerwear - instead of snow, we got fine cold rain all day. Brrrrr.

I had forgotten about this fun hat. 

Accoutrements: 

Warm things. 

• Hat - M&S, consignment, Powell River
• Scarf - gift from Mom, Italy
• Gloves - Parkhurst
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 

Another pair of boots that looks high, but isn't. Hooray for platforms! I wore thick socks over my nylons. 

Golden bling: 

Shiny! 

• Chain bracelets - both thrifted
• Amber ring - c. 1996
• Brutalist ring - vintage 70s, vintage mall
• Earrings - vintage fair

And now...

Art Project: Peacock Jacket, Part 3 - Back Finished! 

We last saw the back of my pale blue leather jacket here a couple of weeks ago, and I'd gotten this far.

All the black was finished. 

Adding colour for the first time is nearly as terrifying as the first time you touch the pen to the leather! 

I looked up a bunch of pictures of peacocks to get these abstract feathers right. 

I finally figured out how to get the colours to blend, so the colouring on this jacket will be more "painty" than other pieces I've done. 

The colours used here are: cobalt blue, turquoise, dark green, olive green. 

Then I tackled the top half of the peacock. 

I used a very pale blue to "wash" the colour on the big "feathers" so that it has a more watercolour look. This section only used: cobalt blue, turquoise, pale blue.

Then I did the roses in brick red and bright red, with the leaves in dark green and olive green. 

I lined the "aura" with turquoise and blended it out - do you see it? 

I did the same thing all along the bottom of the jacket. 

I also outlined the abstract "feathers" on the border and auras. 

Added tiny bits of red. 

Filled in the little bumps along the arc and the connectors. 

Then I outlined the bottom border shapes. 

It makes them pop against the light blue. 

And then - deep breath! - here comes the gold! I added dots to the upper half of the peacock and coloured in the "feathers", circles and bumps on the auras. 

I used alcohol-based liquid gold ink (the same ink I used on the Gold Wing dress), as it sticks well to leather. I wouldn't scrub this with a cloth, but it stays on. Phew! 

On the tail, I outlined a few elements, to give it that shimmery look that real peacock feathers have. 

And I coloured in the shapes on the border. 

I knew I wanted this to be really over-the-top, lots of gold. 

I like how lush and detailed it is. 

Some better light - I worked on this for about 4 hours off and on while I watched football on Sunday. 

As the leather moves, the light catches the gold. 

And there we go. 

Back finished! 

I have ideas for the sleeves and front, but I'll let this rest a bit before I tackle those.