South Dakota Trip Part II

 There were also antelope at Custer State Park.

 

 

 The donkeys were real friendly and you were allowed to feed them.  Here's Paul feeding one that was out in the field.

 This cute little lady is obviously preggers.  She had the sweetest eyes.  She was hanging around the parking lot getting fed and petted.  She's no dummy!

 Here's Crazy Horse.  Did you know that sculptor Korczak Ziółkowski started creating Crazy horse in 1948 and he originally thought it would take ten years to complete.  It was commissioned by Lakota elder Henry Standing Bear. He and his fellow chiefs wanted the white man to know that the red man had famous heroes too.  It is on private land and operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, which is a non profit organization and they haven't accepted any money from the government.  They want to create this monument their way.

Paul and I were driving around one evening between Deadwood and Spear Fish, South Dakota and came across this beautiful waterfall.  We were on a twisty and windy road with a creak along the side of the road the whole time.  I'd say the creek was following the road, but we all know that the road was following the creek.  Just beautiful scenery!

 On our way to Devil's Tower in Wyoming, there was this area where you could pull over.  To the left there sat Devil's Tower, and to the right you could climb a little hill up to a fence and view a canyon.  This beautiful flower was growing on the other side of the fence, and I can't resist taking a photo of a flower.  I mean seriously.  : )

 This is Devil's Tower.  We walked a 1.3 mile hike around this bad boy, and it was hot!  If any of you go to see Devil's Tower, bring a water bottle with you on your walk.  The path was all paved and just beautiful going up and down, twisting to the left, then twisting to the right.  Some beautiful views from there.  Also, wear your tennis shoes.  I wore flip flops and got a blister.  Ya, I know...but it was so hot!

Paul's parents opted to not do the 1.3 mile hike.  They sat in the shade and talked to other people.

Cute little Prairie Dogs were at Custer Park and by Devil's Tower.  This little guy wasn't too far from the road so I was able to get some decent shots with my zoom lens.  Never get close to these little guys because they are wild, will bite and probably have rabbies.  Oh, and apparently rattle snakes and black widow spiders like living in abandoned prairie dog burrows.  Yikes!

This is the entrance to Broken Boot Gold Mine at the edge of Deadwood, S.D, where we took a half an hour tour.  I put my camera on night portrait and it turned out pretty good!  

Thank you for visiting and I wish all of you Americans a Happy and safe 4th of July!  For the rest of you, have a safe and wonderful day!

hugs ~Brenda

Black Hills South Dakota

Last Sunday my hubby and I, along with his parents, went for a trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota.  Boy did we had a lot of fun!  Really beautiful place.  I thought I'd just share some pics from our trip.

 First we went to Mt. Rushmore.  Pretty impressive!

 

Then we went to Custer State Park in South Dakota.

This is my hubby, Paul.  Isn't he strong to be able to hold up those huge rocks like that?  hehe

 

 

 As you can see, I am Very impressed by Paul's strength!  Wow!  : )

 Here we are together.

 This lady Buffalo is cleaning herself.  Can't be dirty for all these pictures taken of her!  

 Mama and Baby Buffalo relaxing in the grass.

 Had to get close ups of the baby with my zoom lens.  Isn't he cute?!  Don't worry, no one left the car when the buffalo were around.  Hey, where do buffalo go? Anywhere they want to!

Ok, see where I drew the circle?  Take a good look.  That is an enormous buffalo walking in front of that SUV, and it is taller than the vehicle.  The one to the left is more like the average size adult.  Don't want to mess with them!  

Driving around Custer State Park and seeing all the buffalo was my favorite part of the whole vacation.  It made me feel so alive and thankful that God created such magnificent animals.  We spoke very quietly and I kept telling the babies that they are beautiful.  Good thing my in-laws are hard of hearing, they'd think I was nuts...oh ya, they already know that!  lol

That's it for now, will be posting more pics later.  

Before I go, I want to show you my final version of Simply Swans. You can find it in my etsy shop and it will soon be in zazzle shop too.

Happy 4th of July weekend.  Be safe and have fun!

hugs,

Brenda

Fawn Painting

Paint Party 15 is here and I have two paintings to show you. 
This first one is an aceo called 'Bunny Lovin'.  I seem to be doing a lot of bunny aceo paintings for some reason...in fact, since my daughter adopted a house rabbit, Moe.  He is so cute and litter trained too!  He has never piddled anywhere except his litter box.  What a good little bunny.

This second painting is the one that has captured my heart.  It's a 16x20 oil painting that I call 'Innocence'
This painting is of  Buddy the deer, an orphaned fawn that Duncan and LuAnn McCannel of Rice Lake, Wisconsin saved.  The McCannels were kind enough to give me permission to paint from one of their photo's that they have on Buddy's Fan page.  Yes, Buddy has a fan page and he now has 692 fans.

The story of Buddy is heart warming and endearing with a sad ending.  Basically, the orphaned fawn followed the McCannels' dogs home and once they realized the fawn was indeed orphaned, they did what most of us humans would have done and cared for the little guy themselves.  Buddy loved pontoon rides and if they tried to go pontooning without him, Buddy would just swim out to them.  He touched many peoples lives and hearts, and I have to tell you that while I was painting his adorable face tears came to my eyes quite a few times.  Buddy's life unfortunately and wrongfully ended, in my opinion by the DNR shooting him because of complaints of some neighbors.  Many people are up in arms about this tragic ending.  Buddy's memory will never die.  This is where you can read the whole story and Here.  
Oh, how did I find out about this story?  WCCO News.

Featuring Star Stream Design Zazzle Shop

Today's featured Zazzle shop is Star Stream Design by Ilene Sternbach Aldridge.

Star Stream Design's Facebook Fan Page.

Les Fleurs du Printemps Necklace by starstreamdesign
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Daisy blue thank you card by starstreamdesign
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Guitar Grunge iPhone3 Speck Case by starstreamdesign
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Flip Flops On the Beach Summer Party Invitation by starstreamdesign
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Burning Sun Monogram iPad Case by starstreamdesign
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Summertime at the Beach Party Invitation by starstreamdesign
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Grid of Hearts Mug by starstreamdesign
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Happy Wednseday!

Paint Party Friday #14

Guess what?  It's Friday!  That means it's time for Paint Party Friday - yah!
I want to show you the little aceo I created this week called Mary and Her Lamb.
It serves two purposes.  For PPF, of course, and for the DAWG monthly challenge, and this month it is Nursery Rhymes.
I had this idea in my head right away, but it took some time before I finally sat down to sketch it out.  Then it took me a couple more days to get out the colored pencils and create it.  It's for sale in my etsy shop, in case you or someone you know may be interested.

 

This is my before and after shots of another yard ornament I spruced up.  I thought the colors were pretty faded so I got busy and turned the little fat birds into black capped chickadees and brightened up those dull pink flowers and the green grasses.

This is of course, the after shot.  It really stands out now instead of blends in.
Hope you all have a glorious weekend.  Don't forget to check out the other wonderful paintings on PPF!
Happy PPF!
Hugs~  Brenda

Featuring Ulla Hennig's Zazzle shop

Ulla Hennig is the second shop owner to be featured on Zazzle Gallery Directory on facebook.
Ulla's shop is full of fun and vibrant photographs from Germany and Europe, cute digital cartoons, and pencil, ink and  pastel works. 
So with no further ado, here are some of my favorites from her shop.

Cute dolphin bookplate by ullahennig
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Lake in Brandenburg, Germany by ullahennig
Browse Photography Postcards

Fighting Seagulls by ullahennig
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Lilacs by ullahennig
Begin selling my art online at zazzle.

Pastel Painting: Beech Marten by ullahennig
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Flying Bird and Alps Mug by ullahennig
cheap coffee mug on zazzle

Three Flying Bats Greeting Card by ullahennig
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Be sure to check out Ulla's Blog too!

Have a wonderful day!
hugs~ Brenda

Featuring Diane Clancy

When I think of bubbles, I think of Diane Clancy.  Diane Clancy is a brilliant Digital artist who creates such wonderful artwork, and her Bubblescapes happen to be my favorite!  That's right, I said Bubblescapes!  You've all heard of landscapes and seascapes, well these are Bubblescapes and they are fabulous!
Here are some products from her shop:

Ocean Dreams by dianeclancyart
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Love Birds Mug by dianeclancyart
Design custom steins at Zazzle

Evening Stroll Card by dianeclancyart
More Diane clancy Cards

Aren't they cool?

Diane also creates these adorable fanciful pet portraits!

Abby in Butterflies Card - Black Labrador by dianeclancyart
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Freckles in Flowers II Postage - Tuxedo Cat by dianeclancyart
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Glowing Burst of Color by dianeclancyart
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Compassion Mug by dianeclancyart
cheap coffee mug on zazzle

You can't forget Diane's goddess images, they are so uniquely Diane!

Conundrum I Magnet - Rainbow Face by dianeclancyart
Browse Rainbow Magnets

So be sure to visit her zazzle shop, and believe me when I say she's just getting started!
Wishing you a fabulous day!
hugs ~Brenda

Paint Party Friday 12

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Friday, June 03, 2011

Paint Party Friday 12

 It's Paint Party Friday and I've been painting all week.  Simply Swans is an 8x10 that I've been working on for months.  Finally last weekend I changed the coloring of the swans and I like it much better.  I still haven't decided if it's done or not.  I am thinking of adding a few more highlights and shadows to the swans and possibly the water.  What do you think?

 This is a rock I did several years ago and it had become all faded, so I gave it a facelift.

 I got this beautiful cardinal planter from my sister for my birthday a couple of years ago and it had really faded also.  The male cardinal was a yellow red and the flowers blended in.  I might do some of the grass, I'm not sure.

This little froggy rock got a face lift too.  He was lookin' kinda sad.

As you can probably see I had a blast with my craft acrylics, it's the kind of paint I used when I first started painting.
I hope you can find some time to hop on over to the Host Blog of Paint Party Friday and check out the other entries.  You will find some awesome artwork!
Have a wonderful weekend.
hugs,
Brenda