Where Mairzy Doats by Donna Stropes; signed 14" x 20" print.

"Last year when I visited Ridgewood Ranch, I noticed how peaceful the surroundings were. This year I have the honor to create a watercolor, trying to evoke a feeling for a place steeped in rich history, especially when that history includes an animal loved by so many. Even the people who shared his life seem bigger than life. While taking my photos for the painting, I was thinking oak trees at first. Then the minute I saw that beautiful, weathered old Mare Barn, surrounded by beautiful old oak trees, I felt, "this needs to be my subject!" I'm drawn to it. As I did my sketching of a study, I thought, "someday they will get this place all fixed up." But in a deeper sense, it's the way it looks now that draws me to it; all those little holes in the back wall...woodpeckers?? The old metal horseshoe maker; even the smell of an old barn, it's all still there.