Quail eggs – free to fly

Quail eggs – free to fly: watercolour on paper

Have you ever sat and looked at a quail egg?

Eggs are miracles of engineering – strong enough to withstand the adult bird sitting on them, yet weak enough for the tiny chick to make its escape. They vary in size, shape, colour and pattern providing a wonderful inspiration to the watercolourist, with their beautiful patterns and camouflage.

Of course taking wild bird eggs is a no on so many counts, but luckily quail eggs are readily available to ooh and aah over. Each one is different, from a gentle speckle to a heavy blotch. Their diminutive size gives them a fairy tale air and they are endless fascinating to study – almost too good to eat.

In this painting, I wanted to give the feel of a natural history exhibit and play with the patterns and markings. I enhanced this with a few hand written labels. Each egg has been varnished, to give an interesting contrast between the matte watercolour paper and the shine of the egg.

The image is 25x25cm and will come in a 40cm mount to go into a frame of your choice. I can frame it in an oak coloured frame if you like, just ask me for a quote.

I care about each painting, so it will be wrapped with love to arrive safely with you. If you are local, of course you are welcome to pick it up.