Art Comes to the Wildlife Garden

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been upcycling metal scraps (leftover from a roofing project) and turning them into art. It’s been fun, to say the least, and I’m thrilled for the variety of whimsical creations that now dot the perimeter of our yard. Check out, for example, my son Logan’s Steampunk chicken.

While the hot Texas summer bakes, wilts, and withers plants right and left, we still get to enjoy bursts of color from different viewpoints around the yard.

My mom thought the idea sounded grand, so we brought some metal sheets out to her house in Nacogdoches. There, she whipped up some beautiful masterpieces of her own, including surprise portraits of our three dogs, Loki, Grover, and Sheba. My aunt Marilyn then brought them back to Austin for us during her own travels back and forth to Nacogdoches. We love the painting — how very special it will always be to us!

Mom’s other painting was equally fun and delightful, and we love it just as much. Knowing our fondness for Screech Owls, she painted an owl that would stay in our backyard year-round (whereas our real Screech Owl family always departs in May when the fledglings leave the nesting box). Guess where in the yard we placed this wonderful art? Yep, near the owl box.

My son Nolan brought more whimsy to the yard with his mystical, magical chicken art. I’m proud of him for jumping into the project.

Above is my take on a Painted Bunting, and while I love our compost bin for many reasons, including aesthetics (believe it or not) and functionality, now it’s even more pleasant to look at for the painting that sits above it.

Even our sweet chickens got in on the act — the six young girls contributed their own art for their backyard haven. It was a little messy, admittedly, but they were good sports.

There’s one more I haven’t mentioned — the one that started them all. It resides in the beautiful coop we built this year. The coop’s roof is the reason we have the extra pieces of galvanized steel in the first place.

I painted it while home miserably sick one weekend. It didn’t make my cold improve, but it made me feel better in other ways. Plus, it looks great in the chicken run. It’s called “Bawk.” 🙂

Most of the above paintings are done with acrylic on galvanized steel. For the ones my mom made (the dog portraits and the owl), Mom used spray paint leftovers to first create a background, then used acrylic to paint the main images. I sealed all of them with a low- odor spray varnish designed for outdoor use (then I sealed them again — I was a little paranoid that Texas weather was going to be rough on them).

We still have a few pieces of metal left over — more art to come!