Back on June 29th I wrote about artwork.  As I mentioned, one of my favorites is a local Wisconsin original artist by the name of Don Ruedy, who lives in the Long Lake area northeast of our “Island City” Cumberland.

I met Don about 4 years ago at the Dancing Bird Art and Music Gallery in Cumberland. Don worked there part-time for Jeff and Chris Hile, the owners, in his retirement.  Funny story…I was looking for another acoustic electric six string guitar.  Don pointed out the beautiful Ovation that had a leaf design with little sound holes.  I played it in the music room and  bought it on the spot.  So, Don stopped in my office to talk about his art on display in our office and there  sitting on the wall is that same Ovation guitar.   We had a good laugh about that day and then he proceeded to talk about how he crafted his beautiful paintings.  Don now retired said he has a quite the collection of  his own art.  I told Don that I’d be tickled to talk about his story and spread it around.  Hence, the subject of this jotting today!  Don’s photo and bio is seen below.

Don said he is attracted to all the beauty that we have in Wisconsin and surrounding places of interest.  Below are two of his oil paintings.  

The oil on the  left is one of his favorite spots near Long Lake which is a representation of a lush birch tree forest and stream with a A-frame cabin the background.   The oil on the right is a pictorial re-imagination of the little town of Barronett, WI which is about 5 miles north of Cumberland.  Stop in our office to see Don’s work and other artists on display.    Some of these pieces are available for sale.

For a more expansive look at Don’s and other local artists’ work you can walk down a couple blocks on Second Avenue (the main street) in Cumberland to visit the Dancing Bird Art Studio and Gallery.  Say hello to Jeff and Chris Hile, local Cumberland talented artists in their own right!  In fact, Jeff talks about being a student of Don’s at UW art school.  I remind Jeff that he was my art teacher at Cumberland High School back in the day.  Another fond memory chuckle about art, life and enjoyment.  Jeff’s work can be commissioned for businesses and personal family art. See his offerings at http://www.jeffhile.com/ He recently showed me a funky art piece in his shop that features wood, barbed wire and a cow painting.  We joked about this not being something I would want to throw in my vehicle because of the barbed wire in route to our education workshops about alternative valued assets. Jeff for years has painted murals, musical and play scenes, among other more abstract work like his piece below..

there is a will there is way…Jeff!  Chris features beautiful painted chairs and tables in their shop along with hand painted glass figures for Halloween and Christmas.   See the photos below.

Chris also crafts beautiful handmade jewelry from stones.  The Hiles are always stretching their imaginations for new pieces of beautiful art!   Hats off to their creativity!

In closing, buy local art and enjoy it!  Taking a few more words from Don…take the time to stop in Cumberland to visit our beautiful art here and at the Dancing Bird Art Studio and Gallery.  Don’t forget about their music instruments room in the back.  That is another topic for another blog.  You can Don’s work in his “mini-art galleries” in local hospitals, physician offices, and other professional services based businesses.  Enjoy and have a wonderful summer day!