Cardinal in Maple Tree

Sometimes I get lucky and take a photo that I really

like or that someone else takes a shine to.

In January of 2013, I happened to get a shot of a cardinal in the maple tree right outside my living room window.  The white and gray background colors of January in Wisconsin were the perfect backdrop for this flashy fella.  I used him on greeting cards and was delighted with the positive feedback I heard from friends.

One friend in particular, Lorrie Covert, loved this cardinal.  I offered to send her the jpg file and she was very appreciative and gushed with compliments.  

Flash forward to this week, almost 2 years later.  Lorrie's husband Mark, a close Coors pal of mine, called me to chat on his way home from the Coors League golf club as he often does.  We catch up on Coors news, golf stuff and always a little baseball.  Mark and I were part of a 4 some that bought season tickets to the Colorado Rockies in their inaugural season and we held those tickets for 10 years.  So, we always have lots of chat about.  Mark played baseball for the St. Louis Cardinal organization in his youth, and then had a fine career at Coors before he retired.

In the course of the conversation, he told me that a friend of theirs, who is a framer and owns a shop, had taken my cardinal photo and given it to an artist.  The artist painted an oil rendition of my photo and & the framer friend finished it off in a nice frame for Mark and Lorrie.  The framer friend knew Lorrie loved the photo and knew Mark was a former Cardinal so it fit together.

I have to say I was pleased and proud to see my photo displayed so beautifully.  

Here is the original photo taken January 12, 2013.

Cardinal in Maple Tree - wjophotography - 1.12.2013

The framed oil painting is below.

Cardinal in Maple Tree in oil - Rick Brogan artist

Biography:Rick Brogan has been painting full-time for over 20 years and has worked as an illustrator, cartoonist and production designer. His work is included in many collections, including the Xcel Energy collection.

It's kind of a thrill to see one of my photographs as a work of art.
Life is Good.