R253 Cottage

I’m getting ready for a month-long exhibit at the artZ Gallery in Amery, WI, beginning February 1, 2019. As a featured artist, my plan is to have at least 20 new paintings ready for the display. It’s a challenge that I’m enjoying so far, but in order for Paul to have time to frame them, these need to be done by January 15! So far, I think I’m on track – and as you can probably guess, the core of the paintings seem to be reflecting special landmarks from our recent trip to Ireland. In our daily jaunts around Donegal County, one of our favorite drives was a wonderful winding, rural road called R253.

This week’s painting, R253 Cottage, 6” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reflects a lovely thatched cottage along this beautiful road and nestled in the hollow of an immense rocky outcrop. It’s a typical Irish sight – the current cottage with its bright trim paint is still connected to the historic ruin. For more information 0n upcoming exhibits, check out the artZ Gallery website at www.artzgallery.org.  

Sun Smack

After a long spell of gray days, we embraced a weekend of warm sunshine. And in the midst of all that sunshine, we celebrated Christmas with our families. We missed my mom – she’s recovering from a fierce cold – but the rest of us, moms and dads and 11 grandkidsies gathered at our house for the event. I love having everyone over and it’s such a treat to have a chance to spend a bit of time with each of our lovely grown children and grandkids. We think Author Garrison Keillor said it best in his book: “Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”  Amen to that! The weather this year has produced wonderful ice on the lake in front of our house, so part of the day was spent lacing up skates and enjoying the outdoors. Even with a fairly stiff wind blowing out of the south and with skaters ranging from 3 to 40 years, it was such fun to see them developing their skills and having such a great time.

This week’s painting, Sun Smack, 10” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reminded me of the joy of seeing the sun peek through a cloudbank on an overcast day in Ireland. The brilliant sunray briefly highlighted a section of the beautiful emerald green countryside. For more information, see my website at www.wildriverarts.com  

Golden Vines

We are so enjoying this Christmas season – celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ at a beautiful Christmas Eve service, getting together with family and friends for special events, and still anticipating our “official” Christmas Day on January 6! This year promises to be one of our larger family gatherings our house – Paul thinks there may be 24 – 11 grandchildren, their wonderful moms and dads, nephew and his girlfriend, and my sweet mom! We are so thankful for every one of them.

Our current weather forecast is for a winter storm with predictions of anywhere from 3 to 12 inches of snow accumulation, but my heart must be in a much sunnier place. My inspiration this week is a photo I’ve carried with me for several years. This painting, Golden Vines, is 11” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper and captures rolling hills of vines resting in the late afternoon sun on a warm autumn day.

First Light Paddle

It’s that time of year . . . and I can’t believe we are measuring days left to Christmas! Each year, we have to renew our commitment to not shop wildly, but to remember the true reason for this celebration – the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Reading the Christmas story, putting up the tree, decorating the house, baking cookies, and singing the Christmas songs all serve to remind us of God’s great love and the many blessings we’ve been given. And this week, we’ll attend our grandchildren’s Christmas programs, get together with family to celebrate my Mom’s 86^th Birthday, and then gather with dear friends for the beautiful Christmas Eve service at our Taylor’s Falls church.

And in the midst of a fairly warm December (with hardly any snow), this seemed a good time of year to remember summer days on the river. This week’s painting, First Light Paddle, is 9” x 10” on 300 lb. paper, and captures the feeling of an early morning paddle with fog rising off the water.

Gunderson Farm

This past fall at the Baker Orchard Art Fair, I met a lovely couple who lived on a nearby farm. A few weeks later, Paul and I met with them to tour the farm – their wonderfully cared for farmhouse, historic barn and lively dog, Mollie – and to talk about the commissioning of this painting. The journey to creating this painting was such fun! This week’s painting, “Gunderson Farm,” is a 10” x 15” watercolor painting on 300 lb. paper.

Pop of Color!

With the recent series of gray days we’ve had here in Wisconsin, it seemed like a good time to paint a pop of color! We spotted this wonderful “chocolate box” thatched cottage with its bright red doors and window trim on a hill overlooking the sea on the rugged and remote Fanad Peninsula. On this particular day, this moment of blue sky was quickly followed by typical Irish fall weather- a rain shower and a smattering of sleet!

This week’s painting, Thatch ‘n Stone, 8” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures this lovely cottage with its beautiful stone wall. See more paintings on the Gallery page of my website at www.wildriverarts.com

The Wild Atlantic

It’s no secret, most of our favorite places in Ireland are located in a skillfully trademarked area – the Wild Atlantic Way. This is an incredible branding effort that encompasses over 1,500 miles of the western coast of the country and successfully maps out and promotes all the villages, towns, and ancient sites of this beautifully scenic region.

It seems almost coincidental then that artZ Gallery in Amery, WI, is celebrating the month of January 2019 with a “Wild and Wonderful” exhibit! In the spirit of this theme, I decided to paint one of our recent discoveries. On a rainy day in late October, we decided to drive north to the Gaelic-speaking districts in Donegal County. On the remote and rugged Fanad Peninsula is located the Fanad Lighthouse.  The light was first lit using whale oil on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1817; a new larger and higher tower was commissioned and the light, using paraffin, went into operation in Sept 1886. The light is 39 meters above sea level; the tower is 22 meters high from foundation to the top of the tower not including the lantern and there are 79 steps in the tower. It is one of 70 lighthouses around the coast of Ireland and continues to provide a vital role in maritime safety today.

This week’s painting, Fanad Light, is 8” x 13” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, and reflects the lighthouse situated on the wild and rocky coastline in the face of an approaching storm.