Defeated By Peacock Vanity

I often read a website for glassers, Stainedglassville (http://www.stainedglassville.com/) Most of the folks there are miles ahead of me on the skill, talent and experience scale, but I love to see what they are doing.

They have a monthly exercise where a member presents a design element or idea, and other members try to come up with an original adaptation of that element. So, like a teenager deciding that a good place to learn to drive is at the Indy 500, I drove on in.... only to find out.... I can't get the (*&^%$ picture to post because the photo file is too big. And because I'm a cyber-idiot, I have no idea how to shrink it or zip it or whatever it is that needs to be done to go.

Here's the design element, an original by one of the board members, Ingava.

So after dinner last night I started doodling. Now keep in mind that my artistic talents are dormant at best and grimly funny at worst. I was told as a kid that art classes are a waste of time and won't get me through college. Neither did all that science and humanities, but that's another story.

All I know about peacocks is that they make an awful screaming noise, they poop tons, and if they chase you, they're alot bigger than a chicken. So I put him up a tree, with really big leaves. What kind of tree? Umm...one with really big leaves. Then this afternoon, after dinking with it a while, I did a finish copy.

I really wish I had one of those programs that takes your photos and turns it into patterns, or even one that helps me draw patterns, or one that does that different-color thing. But I don't, and so far, I'm a little nervous about buying one because I'm a computer idiot. But back to the Peacock Challange...

I logged on the website, I typed up my comment, and tried to attach my picture. Hold on there, Francine! Your file is too big! Well....*&^%$ ..how do I make it smaller? I have no idea.

So I'll just post it here. If anyone can figure out how to pluck it out of here and put it over there, please feel free, cause I haven't a clue.

Here is my finished product. I would like to put more detail in the tail feathers, but I figured this bird was already too vain, and with the right glass it'll look fine. I also didn't like putting that second leaf behind his head and beak..I think it's distracting.. but I didn't know how to resolve the cut lines for the beak and the comb otherwise,without looking like stick-type lines. Anyone?