Blog

Hummingbirds are famous for their iridescent feathers, which shift color depending on the angle of light. That shimmering effect is the result of structural coloration, which was the theme of my recent painting demonstration at the Museum of Life & Science’s Biotech event in Durham.

Structural color is responsible for many of nature’s most dramatic iridescent effects. Instead of coming from pigments alone, these colors are created by microscopic structures that bend, scatter, or interfere with light. Hummingbirds, butterflies, beetles, and even some fish use these tiny structures to reflect specific wavelengths of light, creating vivid colors that can shift depending on the viewing angle. Blue Morpho butterfly wings and peacock feathers are famous examples of this effect.

Artists use interference paints to produce similar effects. These are almost transparent on white paper except when the viewing angle reveals the flash of color, because the paper is bouncing the incoming light back to the viewer. The flash of color is still visible, but it’s diluted by all of that reflected light. On black paper, much less light is reflected, so the color flash becomes the dominant thing you see. 

Interference paint swatches on white and black paper

Some interference paints include color pigments as well, but I prefer the versions without pigment. This allows me to create very customized color effects. For example, the throat feathers—or gorget—of the Lucifer Hummingbird appear magenta, but can flash blue or even bronze depending on the light. The study below layered blue and magenta pigments with red and blue interference colors. Green pigments and interference colors were used on the body and head. I took the photos with the light at different angles - the blue lines on the second image highlight the more reflective areas.

Study of Lucifer Hummingbird

I’m already developing the next paintings in this series and am looking forward to discovering more of the remarkable color effects that nature creates through structural color!

Works in progress (left to right): Red-Tailed Comet, Green Violet Ear and Booted Racket Tail