“The Clod and the Pebble” 18×24 Soft Pastel
The inspirations for this piece:

The Clod and the Pebble
by William Blake

“Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell’s despair.”

So sung a little Clod of Clay,
trodden with the cattle’s feet,
But a Pebble of the brook
Warbled out these metres meet:

“Love seeketh only self to please,
to bind another to its delight,
Joys in another’s loss of ease,
And builds a hell in heaven’s despite.”

Ecclesiastes 3:18 “I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals.”

Wading, 4×6 Soft Pastel

So, I haven’t been so daily lately. I feel like this cow. Lazy, moving slowly, wading in the water. Ah, Spring! It makes me comatose. And I have so very much to do: the last week of preschool, new pastel classes and a workshop to teach at Forstall Art Center, art lessons at home, art shows, drop offs and pick ups and receptions, not to mention family matters that are ever present and ever moving. But I just want to close my eyes and sit; in fact, I’m having a hard time keeping them open. At the moment I am choosing to ramble on instead of get down to the newsletters and printing and drawing I have on my to do list. But, like my little cow, sometimes you just have to take a minute and soak.

Spring Farm, 12×16 Soft Pastel

I was happy about the vibrance in this piece, which came unexpectedly. I also got to use one of my favorite, but not often used, techniques to get the yellow specks in the grass. My parents took the photo of the mule on one of their trips and I was glad to finally find him a home.

Screech Owl, 5×7 Soft Pastel
This owl reminded me of those wooden carvings I remember from my childhood…I don’t even know where I have seen them, but they are in my memory. I gave him a glow in the night, with a midnight blue behind him, using complimentary colors to enhance his presence.

King of the Mountain, 8×8 Soft Pastel SOLD

I have had the photograph of this sheep forever and he always made me laugh. I finally had the inspiration to use him in a picture, and he has already found a new home!

As part of my Southern Exposure series, I am drawing a series of birds. I have started with some of my favorites and am enjoying the change of wildlife subject.

“Soft Cotton” 3×5 Soft Pastel, $95 in matte and frame

I am working on new backgrounds for my cotton bolls. Instead of a flat color, I am trying faded cotton and earth.

Empty Tub, 18×24 Soft Pastel
I finished this piece in a day, and then kept coming back to it adding colors and making adjustments. It shows a certain stiffness in the pose, but I intended it as a moment of frozen reflection, sort of like when you are reluctant to get out of the bathtub even after all the water has drained out.

Feather, 5×10 Soft Pastel
I like the odd simplicity of this piece, and the single bright red feather.

18×24 Soft Pastel, Untitled
A larger addition to the Blue Series. The final addition of peeling paint in the corner added a whole different feel to this piece.