Our anniversary present

This is our anniversary painting, Cloudwork by Rick Dziak.  Most years this is what we do, although last year was a bit more expensive with a trip to Spain where we celebrated with Martti and Riitta Tulamo.  I walked down to the hotel to meet the artist with a check after talking to his wife, and while I was there a man was being celebrated for his 80th birthday by a bagpiper named Patrick. Fun to watch and hear.  I checked the internet for "bagpiper for hire" and there are many sites.

Beautiful chickens

Artistically speaking, poultry are beautiful animals--vibrant colors, distinct breeds, and dumb as a rock for the most part. A number of times I have passed up some great chicken art--I'm mean, unless you have a themed kitchen, what do you do with them? I remember one time I saw a huge collection of magazine or calendar art from Watt Publishing's Poultry Tribune, inside a post binder at a used book store, and unfortunately, passed it up. Another time I saw a very reasonably priced watercolor in a local gallery, but again, passed. Today I was at a tag sale at Advent Lutheran Church. Art is always overpriced at these events, but there it was. . . an original 8 x 10 oil for $1.00. The price seemed right, although I'm sure the artist is a hobbyist. It's on good quality linen canvas, not stretched and poorly framed. It's sort of folk art, with a great deal of attention to the feathers. I just love it. The artist, P. Julian, either had a good grasp of the beauty of chickens or copied a 19th century print. Isn't it beautiful?