Ewe Betcha!

A few years ago, we traveled with my mom to visit with our dear friends, the Jordan family, in Holland and then went on to spend four days in Ireland. It was a wonderful time of re-connecting with these friends who have become family to us and seeing amazing sights. It was especially fun to show her some of our favorite places along the western coast of Ireland.  However, after a day of seemingly endless stops to take “one more” photo of sheep, she asked: “Deb, how many sheep pictures do you need?” And my response was: “Can you ever have enough pictures of sheep?”

So here we are again! This week’s painting, Ewe Betcha, 9” x 13” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, bears a creative name by my husband, Paul, and features a favorite black-faced sheep on a rocky hillside in the Connemara region of Ireland.

Celebrating Songbirds!

This is our 5^th summer in our “lake” home and it has been a wonderful summer of watching birds, butterflies, and even Luna Moths flit around the yard! After a long winter of watching Monty Don’s BBC gardening shows, Paul and I dug up the back yard and created a perennial and vegetable garden. It’s been a labor of love – well, for one of us! Paul says he’s not a gardener, but he is a patient enabler of my gardening habit and a willing participant in planting trees, hauling in rocks (yes, we are crazy!) for garden edging, building “bug hotels” with the grandkids, and planting plants and trees to attract bees and butterflies. The result is that the garden is thriving in spite of frequent visits by two yearling deer, our birdhouses are full and the feeders are busy!

I’ve been having a good time painting some of these favorite visitors. The two-month long Natural Heritage Project: Migratory Birds exhibit closed today at the Watershed Café in Osceola, WI. And a very special thanks to the folks who purchased my painting that was displayed in this exhibit, Rose-breasted Grosbeak. It’s so nice to know it’s going to a good home.

This week’s painting, Flash of Color, 9” x 13” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures a male Cardinal pausing for a moment in a deep woods.  A beautiful photograph, taken by my friend Ruth Ronning, was my inspiration and this was such fun picture to paint! For more information or to purchase paintings, see www.wildriverarts.com