Redwood Sapling

"Redwood Sapling" is acrylic on cradled wood board 12" square by 1 1/2" deep. Not for sale until the completion of my series on our urban forest is complete.

Memory of Our Cut Down Fir Tree

"Memory of our Cut Down Fir Tree with Nest" first painted with two blue jays in flight is acrylic and iridescent color on cradled wood board, 12" square by 1 1/2" deep and will be for sale when I complete this series on urban forests. There is much work to be done on our neighbor's overgrown Christmas tree lots. more and more houses are being built close by. The city ordinance says in vacant areas the grass must be cut and in order to get to the grass the trees need to be thinned. Our neighborhood looks like it is between being a park and a tree farm.

Reducing Fire Danger in Overgrown Christmas Tree Lot

My husband on tractor is pushing the burn pile together burning excessive branches.This picture was taken exactly a year after posting my environmental painting of birds and fish benefiting from a root ball in a pond. When I did this final painting of the series about loosing the fir trees I had no idea that I could continue the story this year. Pictured above is one of last years paintings, " The Dream, A Submerged Root Ball is a Fish Nursery." acrylic on cradled Masonite, 12" square by 1 1/2" deep, will be for sale when series is complete. This is an important series in my life work. More paintings will follow soon.

I am overwelmed that my dream came true. My husband is lining up trees to be transported soon to ponds which fill old rock quarries where gravel was dug for the I 5 Freeway that traverses Oregon between California and Washington. The stumps and root balls will provide habitats for fisheries thaks to volunteer workers like my husband.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wild Life loading fallen trees.

Thinned Overgrown Christmas Trees

"Thinned Overgrown Christmas Trees" is acrylic on a cradled wood box 6" x 8" x 1 1/2", ready to hang, no frame necessary, for sale $100 plus postage. For fire protection my husband is thinning a neighbor's Christmas trees grown to 45 feet tall. These trees are not of much commercial value so they are being donated to the Department of Fish and Wild Life. The tree with root ball will be placed in the old gravel pits left behind when they were dug out for the construction of I5 Freeway. These gravel pits have filled with water and will become better fish habitats with the addition of these spindly trees and roots.
This project came about after I painted a series on the trees cut down on the lot we sold. I imagined that their roots were placed in a lake and fish fry were swimming and taking shelter in the tangled roots. So this means I will continue the series started just over a year ago. http://umbrellapaintingjournal.blogspot.com/2007/05/fish-habitat.html#links

I make dragons to express spirit and essence of the unseeable

To see these and more dragons click on the linkhttp://widlerwenzeldragons.blogspot.com/

Early Spiritual Dragon Painting

" Primeval Sea", 1965, is an acrylic painting on canvas, 19.5" x 49.5" "Rain's collection. Rain is correct in labeling the painting a spiritual abstract. "Rain," who was the first to notice hidden dragons in my paintings, saw the dragon in this early painting.

Labels, however, make me uncomfortable and when people ask what kind of painter I am, I squirm in discomfort and I stammer a few confusing words wishing I would just disappear at that moment.

I have always considered this painting spiritual. I remember having coffee with Rain the morning before painting it as we often did. That morning we thought about how the universe began and if there was a God. Spiritual means to me that which we know exists beyond what can be measured scientifically.

I am in the process of identifying which works are spiritual. I think most of my work is spiritual because of the way I go about making them like they are a journey each one of them.

Essence of Breeze and Apple Blossoms

This is my final abstraction of the apple blossoms and blue bird series. "Essence of Breeze in Apple Blossoms" is acrylic on cradled wood board 6" x 8." For sale $120 plus postage. The peak of the blossoms are almost over and my husband is logging so I want to add to the series on the life cycle of trees.
In answer to the question - "Is a painting just a blurred photograph. I would say not today because a photograph is reproduced with small dots of ink while a painting is produced by the brush stroke. In my case the brush strokes try to be paint like and not reproduce a photographic image.

Essence of Honey Bee and Apple Blossoms

The acrylic abstract, " Essence of Honey bee and Apple Blossoms" is painted on a cradled board 6" x 8" x 1 1/2". For sale $ 120 plus shipping cost. A special only through May 31.

The question before me as I am abstracting is: On a cold cloudy gray day, am I going to get inspired in the next couple of minutes as I am painting? And I did. I kept wanting to continue painting. Then I took a load back to the patio. Coming back for a second load, the blue birds flew by. At first I thought maybe they were curious about the paintings but most likely they were thinking, "Yippy, she is leaving and it will be our turn to feed."

Essence of Apple Blossoms, Freshly Tilled Dirt, and Blue Birds

"The essence of (yesterday's painting) Apple Blossoms, Tilled Dirt and Blue Birds" is on a cradled wood board 6" x 8" x 1 1/2". For sale $120 plus shipping cost. I am having a hard time saying it is for sale because it felt so inspired by the feeling of being outside on one of our first nice days.

Apple Blossoms, Fresh Tiled Dirt and Blue Birds

"Apple Blossoms, Fresh Tiled Dirt and Blue Birds" is many layers of acrylic on a cradled wood board. 5" x 7". For sale $120 plus shipping cost.
Blue birds in flight make a magnificent iridescent blue streak. They often perch in our blossoming apple tree and when they see a bug in the freshly tiled earth, they fly down. The next painting will be an essence abstracted from the "Apple Blossoms, Fresh Tiled Dirt, and Blue Birds." My husband is also enjoying the day driving tractor to haul the cut trees to the fence where Fish and Wild Life can pick up the trees for a lake enhancement program with the goal of making an ideal spawning grounds.

Blue Bird Watches and Waits for Tractor Mower

"Blue Bird and Tractor Mower" is acrylic on cradled wood board 5" x 7". For sale $100 plus cost of shipping.

While my husband mowed the fields, I painted a bluebird watching and waiting. Today the hawk was gone and the bluebirds were out feeding. There was much going on at home. Airing out the motor coach, bookkeeping, volunteer work. With so much happening at home, I wonder when we will think about our next RVing trip.

Defender Blue Bird

"Defender Bluebird" is acrylic on a cradled board 8" x 6" x 1 1/2". Sold
The weather was so nice this afternoon, I enjoyed painting outdoors. I can feel the spring day as I painted. There were many birds including a hawk in the woods near by. I did not see the blue birds who were very defensive of their bird house just a week ago. The hawk circled about with a twig.