About Missy

Missy Feigum is a Portland-based colored pencil artist who draws adorable, fluffy birds with attitude.

In 2017 she gave herself a challenge: draw 100 birds. Years later she's past #100 and still going. The project has taken her from backyard regulars like Black-Capped Chickadees, Scrub Jays and Bushtits to far-flung favorites like the Cassowary, the Resplendent Quetzal and the Lilac-Breasted Roller. Along the way she has also invented a few birds of her own.

Each drawing is made by hand in colored pencil, usually on 6" × 8" toned mixed-media paper. The toned paper lets her build up soft, layered feathers and push the highlights, so every bird looks like it might ruffle up and give you a look. She works from reference photos, and , when known, she credits the photographers whose images inspire a piece.

Missy has been drawing and painting since she was a kid. After years of disturbingly whimsical, storybook-style acrylic paintings, she went back to basics to relearn how to draw, one bird at a time.

Sometimes she draws other critters too: corgis, cats, butterflies, and the occasional dragonfly. She takes a limited number of commissions each year for custom bird drawings and pet portraits.

When she isn't drawing, she can be found cooking, hiking, binge-watching Thai and Korean dramas, and staring at her cat. You can follow new birds as they hatch on Instagram (@zeecatsbah) and TikTok (@missyvirata).