NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) selected a whimsical design by Bonnie Matthews of Narrowsburg to feature on the 2025 commemorative T-shirts that all participants in the 5th Annual Upper Delaware Litter Sweep will receive. 

Land-based clean-ups will take place throughout the entire month of April in communities surrounding the bi-state Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.

This year, volunteers will sport team shirts with a friendly deer and his bird pal reminding litterers, “Don’t Be Trashy!” The safety green shirts will have the UDC’s Land-Water-People slogan on the back and media sponsor WJFF Radio Catskill’s logo on the left short sleeve. 

Published illustrator Bonnie Matthews submitted the winning design after seeing the UDC’s first-ever Litter Sweep artwork contest promoted on Instagram earlier this year.

After moving to Narrowsburg from Southern California about 15 months ago, Matthews has been looking for meaningful ways to get involved in the river valley community.

Her 25-year career as an artist, children’s book illustrator, and food photographer, combined with her interests in kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, and wildlife preservation, provides a creative outlet to contribute to her new home base.

“I feel really passionate about clean water and the natural environment. Trash is a huge problem. As a student growing up in Springfield, VA, I did clean-ups in local parks and had done volunteer illustration work for the John Falls Watershed Association in Baltimore, MD and for waterways protection in Costa Mesa, CA,” she says.

Matthews’ work has appeared in over 100 publications, licensed products, and signage. Clients include The National Zoo, John Hopkins Children’s Center, and Land’s End. A piece commissioned by the Mesa Water District, “Set in Motion, a Change for the Ocean”, was installed in the John Wayne Airport to celebrate Earth Month in April 2022. Matthews was selected as an exhibitor at Delaware Valley Arts Alliance’s RiverFest in Narrowsburg last July.

Having studied Communication Arts and Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, Matthews worked as an art director in the Washington DC area while practicing her personal art illustrations at night.

She describes her signature style as “edgy/whimsical, fun and fanciful, and colorful” with imaginative, imperfect characters and scenes, often done as ink lined drawings painted with a gouache effect or done in acrylics for larger works.

She discovered Narrowsburg through visiting a friend’s vacation home. The river recreation, abundance of artists, and interesting food venues called out to her.

“I wanted to start a new chapter and get connected to a different way of life after living in California since 2013. I’m excited to be here,” she says.

Matthews may be reached at @Bonnie_matthews_illustration, (410) 591-5665, or getbon.matthews@gmail.com.