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.

The Legend of the Donkey

One day on a beautiful country lane in Ireland, we spotted a small group of donkeys on the edge of a field. When I got out of the car to take a picture, this one walked right up to us and stood quietly next to the stone wall. With its clearly defined cross marking on his back, we immediately remembered the legend of the cross. However, I didn’t realize that all purebred donkeys are born with a cross on their back, but not all of them are so visible. According to the legend, it is the gift our Lord gave to the humble donkey that carried Him into Jerusalem. According to the legend, the little donkey so loved his Master that he followed Him to Calvary. Grief-striken at the sight, he turned away but remained at his station at the foot of the cross. The shadow of the Cross fell upon him and from that day all purebred donkeys wear the Master’s Cross on their back.

This week’s painting, Humble Donkey, 8” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, seeks to capture this iconic Irish scene in a remote corner of County Donegal.  

Driving the R253

In exploring the roads of northwest Ireland, one of our favorite drives became the R253 road which ran between the towns of Glenties and Ballybofey in Donegal County. An “R” indicates a secondary road – it is usually lined on both sides by thick stone walls, doesn’t have the yellow-broken lines on the edges of the road nor the white line separating the lanes. Although it was only about 24 kilometers long, for us the R253 contained some of the most incredible scenery. Around every turn, we seemed to see something new – an ancient ruin, a fast-rushing peat-brown river, a beautiful lough (lake), a grazing herd of animals, or a picturesque stone cottage situated high on one of hillsides. 

This week’s painting, Heading Home, 9” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reflects one of those spontaneous scenes. We came around a tight “bend” in this road to face this amazing view – a farmer/shepherd along with his two faithful dogs leisurely driving a small flock of sheep up to the family farmstead on a rainy afternoon. We were happy to just wait quietly and enjoy this one-in-a-lifetime view until the “parade” made it safely to the barn. 

See more art in the Gallery on my website at www.wildriverarts.com