Jan Endsley ~ The Crazy Quail Lady

I love it when people have passion…when something drives them with fierce devotion. Jan is one of these people and her passion is not ordinary: QUAILS!

She has dedicated her life to these birds (and other fowl) and single-handedly operates Covey Run Game Farm in Eatonville WA. I visited Jan in July and before painting her FACE we toured her little slice of heaven that is tucked up at the foot of Mt Rainier. Besides a plethora of quail she has chickens, hens, pheasant and even a peacock. 2 dogs, a cat and a horse round out her menagerie.

There may be surplus of birds but the quail rule the roost where Jan hand raises chicks and special ones live in the house, share ice cream and go camping with her. Her home is adorned with bird and especially quail art and paraphernalia. In 2003 Jan penned a charming book of vignettes told from a quail’s perspective titled “Diary of a California Valley Quail”.  

Louis is “King Quail” in her poultry domain and Jan commissioned me to paint a portrait of Mr. Louis to immortalize his unique personage. In fact it was Louis that was responsible for us meeting. He was the live model for wildlife sculptor Rip Caswell in Edmonds at Cole Gallery one Saturday in June. I was surprised to find he didn’t have a feather on his head, what we all come to equate with quail, and learned that Louis is a Bobwhite quail. An entire world beyond my awareness unfolded that day!

When Jan posed for her FACE portrait this week we had Louis sit on her lap. All was cool for the first shots and then I watched as he geared himself up for a flap to freedom. I loved the way this last shot turned out when Louis launched himself off Jan's lap. Not to worry....Jan scooped him up in no time!