Building Sandcastles By The Sea Painting

I was born and raised in a little town in Northern Vermont on Lake Champlain. I am currently living in the Hudson Valley though the journey from there to here took me round about the world. My rather international upbringing gave me a deep love of all things 'different' and a fascination of all the combinations possible. My rural beginnings keep me firmly grounded in the garden. Mix it all up and you get the Joyous Garden! My inspiration is nature on the terrestrial plane (my garden) and physics/cosmology ( I work while listening to lectures... ) on the extra-terrestrial plane. My imagination frolics happily between the two. I am inspired by Frank L. Baum and his wonderfully whimsical Oz books. My grandmother read them all to me and their thumb print is deep within my soul. The Golden Age of Illustration has influenced my technique profoundly. each of my works is a mixed media layer cake of sorts. I begin with a highly detailed graphite drawing in the classical style. Next comes a layer of watercolor pencils 'clothing' the characters in color. I now paint into the piece with shellac based inks giving the piece a gem like depth and richness. Next I work in pastels ( on images where sky and/or water are dominant. ) This gives those areas a velvety softness unique to pastels. After this I let the piece rest a bit and simply sit with it. I observe it in different lights, different times of day, different moods. When I feel that it really is complete, that it 'sings' I delicately outline the characters with an ultra fine nib pen to give that final oomph. Each step is time consuming but necessary. To leave any step out truly diminishes the final piece. I am self taught and knowing no rules, or at least not paying to much heed to them, has allowed me to view and use materials much as a child would. I glory in the buttery softness of my Faber- Castell pencils, the velvety richness of my Sennelier pastels, the detailed exactitude of my graphite pencils. Like a child I am drawn to the colors , mixing and matching to my hearts content.