Dennis McGregor's new book, "You Stole My Name," was born out of a serendipitous accident.

"I had some free time and I just wanted to paint something fun," McGregor recalled.

He painted a turtle climbing up a barbed-wire fence with a bird watching him.

"Without realizing it, I started painting a turtledove," he said.

The artist got a kick out of the juxtaposition - and so did others.

"The first people that saw it responded so favorably to it, I thought, 'Maybe I'm on to something,"' he said.

He was. A whole series of paintings followed. He painted a bull and a frog, staring at each other, and called it "Bullfrog." And he kept going, and going. Last summer, he hosted a showing of his paintings at the Sisters Library. And recently he conducted a successful Kickstarter campaign to produce a book.

This is the second book McGregor has crowd-funded through Kickstarter.

"People say, 'Why don't you just go get a publishing deal?,'" McGregor said. "First of all, I hate rejection. Second, I don't have that many years left. I wanted to get the book done and get it out there."

And out there it is - to great acclaim. People have been sending McGregor pictures of them reading the book to their kids, or the kids reading the book themselves.

"I can't believe how well it's been received," he said. "It's probably the most successful thing I've done, based on what I'm hearing."

The book has also led to a commission from The Old Mill District to do a mural based on three of his images.

The book is available through Paulina Springs Books in Sisters. Next month, on Friday, July 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. Paulina Springs Books and Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop will feature McGregor for the 4th Friday Art Stroll.

And there's more to come.

"I'm working on a sequel now," the artist said. "You Stole My Name, Too."