Did you know there are companies out there that sell real-life taxidermied peacocks!? I found out about this from a dear friend who knew a girl who wanted one for her birthday. More specifically, she wanted Handsome Johnny. Handsome Johnny was a 5’5″ peacock that came perched on top of a bright yellow metal stand made from reclaimed WWII plane parts. I’m not kidding. And I absolutely lament the fact that I did not get a screen shot of Handsome Johnny back in 2012 when I first heard about him. But I saw him, and believe me Handsome Johnny was glorious.
At first I laughed about the whole story (especially the fact that this girl had apparently purchased Handsome Johnny for herself and was trying to find a way to break it to her husband), but then I started thinking. I wanted a peacock too. I knew a specimen like Handsome Johnny was out of my league, so I went for the next best thing: a two-dimensional never-been-dead peacock for my wall. A peacock painting.
Because I’m cheap frugal and, at the time, Mr. L and I had purchased our first grown-up furniture for our new apartment, I decided to DIY my peacock. After finding some good looking peacock photos online, I went to Michaels, bought some peacocky colors and a canvas and got started.
Now I do not consider myself to be an artist (and I’m not really sure I would actually enjoy painting all of the time), but I am capable of busting out the right brain when the time calls for it. I’m impatient, though, and want immediate results, so I use acrylics. And I basically start painting and do not stop until I am finished. Hence my peacock was born overnight.
And, much to Mr. L’s chagrin, I surrounded it in gold leaf because when painting a peacock, why not? My mind was a little fried after pulling an all-nighter to paint, so I probably would have bedazzled that thing given the opportunity.
After all was said and done, I had this peacock. It was ostentatious, gold leafed (!), aaaaand it didn’t really fit anywhere in our house. But it was my Handsome Johnny.
My over-the-top peacock now watches over our guest room where–let’s face it–we tend to put the pieces we love but that don’t fit in our lives anymore. He may make an appearance downstairs one day. I just have to convince Mr. L that gold is the new black.
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