California Quail

There was a nice walking path near my house in Healdsburg, Ca, which led up to a dirt road, a stand of manzanita bushes and very little else -- except California quail. Every time I walked there I'd encounter a flurry of adult quail and a whole bunch of fuzzy babies. They don't walk or run, they dart about in and out of the bushes, moving almost as one entity. And they have that adorable little bit of feathers on their heads. It was hard not to smile whenver I saw them and harder still not to try to draw or paint them.This was my attempt to do just that.The original is a watercolor with gouache and pen and ink used to give detail. The print is a professionally reproduced limited edition, pencil signed (with my updated name) and numbered.

If you wish to purchase a print, click here.

Image copyright 1990 Virginia McLaren.

Swans

Swans have always fascinated me. They are majestic and elegant in the water and a bit ungainly on land. I encountered these swans at a state park in West Virginia and caught them in kind of a group hug.

The original painting is a watercolor with acrylic and gouache washes.

The print features an image approximately 9 3/4 by 11 3/8 inches, made in my studio using archival inks on 13 by 19 inch watercolor finish archival paper, and pencil signed by me.

If you would like to purchase this from my Etsy site, click here.

Additional prints done to various sizes -- some even on canvas -- are available by clicking on this gallery.

Image copyright 2009 Virginia McLaren.