(Springboard Show ~ Art Inspired by Art ~ EBSQ ~ March) Within the last few years it occured to me that I had been truly inspired & influenced as a child by the simply wonderful artful pen & ink "decorations" by British illustrator, Ernest H. Shepherd in the original Winnie the Pooh books. His drawings of the "Hundred Acre Wood" (Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England) where Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet had adventures are still clear in my memory. My mother read them to us when we were very young and we loved the original stories very much! The dry English wit and true spirit of the stories was lost in the Disney version. At the very least the characters should have had British accents! But I digress... This is a scene along the Green River in Auburn, Washington. Each morning I would walk to my friend's home & we would walk for about an hour. The highlight for me was seeing this great tree each day with its canopy reaching high over the path. I have sketched and painted this scene numerous times. This pen & ink version was produced as a stamp for a stamping company.