By Breven Honda
Juniper’s Outpost has been living on Mesquite Boulevard for the last three years, celebrating its third birthday a couple months ago in March.
David and Charlotte Sirianni, owners of Juniper’s Outpost, show off the mural of Elsie from Donkey Dreams. The painting is available, with proceeds going back to the Donkey Rescue facility. (Kirk Kern photo)
The boutique shop is home for people to find unique items with the opportunity to find inspiration or a deeper meaning behind an item.
One item in particular that stands out in the shop is a painting that is 48 inches by 24 inches with a bright yellow background.
The painting shows a brown and white donkey, named Elsie.
David and Charlotte Sirianni both own the store and received the painting around the new year.
“It was done by an artist currently living in Kanab, named Gail Alger,” David Sirianni said. “She is a professional artist. Works primarily in watercolors, but does other mediums as well, and she sort of fell in love with Elsie at Donkey Dreams, one of the matriarchs of the herd, from what we understand. And did a portrait of her.”
“They then donated that to the sanctuary for them to do with it what they saw fit, and what they saw fit was to use it to raise money to feed the herd.”
The sanctuary then reached out to Juniper’s Outpost regarding the painting.
“We went out to the sanctuary and saw it there, and they asked us if we would want to add on display at Juniper,” David Sirianni said. “There was no second thought, absolutely, we would love to have that.
“There are a whole bunch of local sponsors that are involved with the sanctuary, and we want to be one of the local area businesses that help support them, and so just 100% of the proceeds from it go to the herd.”
In the store, there is a note next to the painting, explaining what it is and who made it.
“We have a little placard with a QR code that links to her website displayed right in front of it, Elsie,” David Charlotte said. “So that people can find out more about the artist. We have a little write up that she gave us, that we have displayed next to the portrait,
David Sirianni was grateful the shop has been able to have conversations with people looking to potentially but the painting of Elsie.
“What a very generous donation on her part,” he said. “That’s a significant piece of art that she donated to them out of love for the herd to help take care of them. That’s, that’s pretty cool.”
Ever since Christmas, the painting has been on display for anyone and to see and potentially buy.
As of April 18, the painting is currently listed at $1,200.
David Sirianni said there has been numerous people coming into the store and look at the donkey painting.
“It’s going to take the right wall for it,” David Sirianni said. “It’s a large piece of art, and it’s acrylic on Canvas, stretched over a frame. It’s just going to take a lot of Archer pieces of art that we deal with. It’s just going to take the right home, right buyer, and no, they’ll come along.”
Everybody’s has a different point of view on the painting, including some of the painting’s best parts.
“The scale,” Charlotte Sirianni said. “She’s life size.”
David Sirianni enjoys the scale but also likes the cougars’ whiskers and the eyelashes.
“Mine are the whiskers and the eyelashes, and just how detailed they are real soft,” he said. “Nose, really nose. We love that about her.”
As the summers roles along, Juniper’s Outpost will continue to hear offers and conversation as David Sirianni can get through five months. The target sell date
