G.Q. | TOPKNOT

Title: G.Q. | Topknot

Artist: James Havens

Year: 2026

Medium: Oil on canvas art

Size: 48" x 48"

Location depicted: Sedona, AZ with Gambel's Quail

Original: SOLD | Private Commission

Inspiration: Gambel's Quail calling at sunset in Sedona's Red Rocks.

[Painting Description]

The canvas beautifully showcases a luminous Sedona landscape painting at twilight, where the glowing red rock cliffs are bathed in the warm glow of a rising moon in Capricorn. In the foreground, a lone Gambel’s quail perches on twisted desert brush and prickly pear cactus, poised to call into the vast, amber-lit landscape. The dramatic contrast between the fiery orange cliffs and the intimate, textured foreground creates a sense of the Southwest’s wild spirit meeting quiet, poetic observation.

Artist Statement

Painting on location in Sedona’s red rock country was an immersive experience that inspired me to blend natural observation with symbolic storytelling. In this work, I focus on the Gambel’s quail’s call as a voice of the desert, set against the iconic moon-lit cliffs echoing the mythic Capricorn energy of Max Ernst’s historic site. I wanted the piece to feel both historically rooted in the Southwest’s landscape and surreal in its dramatic composition, capturing the emotional resonance between earth and sky. Limited edition prints of this piece may be available for those who wish to take a piece of this Southwest essence home.