A sweet reminder of central California’s wildlife. Hills above Santa Barbara are covered in chaparral, agave, wild fennel. It was mid-afternoon, I was taking a break during a dance workshop I was attending. I love scrub jays. They are the mellower of California’s jays — Stellar jays are much more vocal. They can mimic red-tailed hawks, which keeps other predators at bay.
This is a chalk pastel (PrismaColor nuPastel) based on a very blurry photo. Here he sits perched atop the dried stalk of an agave cactus blossom, strong diagonal lines in the background to suggest the piercing afternoon sun.
