“The Climbing Tree”
5×9 Soft Pastel
I had one of those bad days where I couldn’t find anything I felt like drawing. Then I saw the old climbing tree at my grandparents’ house. We have pictures of my cousins, my sister, myself, and now my daughter all climbing this old tree. I thought I’d try my hand at capturing the history and the movement of this special monument.

“Opposites Attract”
5×8 Soft Pastel
I always like to find strong contrasting colors, and I found it in the black and white in this picture. I did this while my little girl was happily scampering around the room and it seems to echo that moment with its brightness and humor.

“Wimbley”
11×14 Soft Pastel
This is my mother’s Shetland Sheepdog Wimbley. He’s a sweet, gentle little dog and I tried to capture that in his expression.

“Grandfather’s Figs”
5×5 Soft Pastel
These figs evoke a lot of memories of my grandfather…making fig preserves with him, his fig tree, and his love for the fruit. I was happy with how they turned out.

“Mixed Grazers” 8×10 Soft Pastel

The highland cow and sheep in this painting were grazing on the North shore of the Isle of Iona, Scotland.

“Oranges” 9×12 Soft Pastel
After drawing so many sheep and cows, I felt like trying something different and simple. It was such a perfect Spring day that something fresh and bright felt in order, so sitting by my open window I drew three simple oranges, keeping the color palette to a minimum.

“Three’s a Crowd” 5×5 Soft Pastel
When I saw this photograph we took on the Isle of Iona off the western coast of Scotland, I loved the grouping and the strong lights and shadows of the sheep.