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I’m happy to share my newest painting – Topknot and Blossoms – featuring one of the most beautiful and recognizable birds here in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. It’s a female Gambel’s Quail atop an old, weathered branch with a wonderful blossoming Creosote bush in the background.

I’m fortunate to live in an area of Scottsdale that still has room for wildlife to roam free. I spotted this quail right outside my studio window. Gambel’s Quail pairs usually have their youngsters in late May or early June. When the chicks eventually hatch, they’re not larger than a ping pong ball and they literally hit the ground running. Gambel’s Quail usually lay more than a dozen eggs because predators take a heavy toll on both the eggs and the little hatchlings. It’s always a treat to watch the new parents introduce the young ones to their environment as the whole family scurries along the ground.

As with all of my work, realism is the dominant objective. Topknot and Blossoms measures 16” x 20” and is painted using oils on panel.