Quail in the Field - Final

I had to walk away from this piece last fall. Deciding when things are finished can be problematic at times. As this piece was, for a change, not a copy but totally my own, it didn't gel completely at first.

It felt unfinished for a very long time.

My decision was to add some shelter, albeit thin, for the birds. Grasses, shrubbery for a touch of colour balance and a few rocks created a minimal blind.

The glaring white of the birds faces were too bright. Yes they are white but they don't shine in nature. I muddied them a bit with black.

Though I no longer feel the acute emotional attachment that originally drove this piece I'm satisfied it still portrays the awful reality that all of nature is affected by climate change. The fires are only one challenge.

40"X40"