Artwork / high school and college / Ashley

In high school, I used oil pastels quite a bit. I loved the color saturation they made possible and, for some reason that eludes me now, they felt less intimidating than acrylic paints.

I have included this portrait on my site because, of all the oil pastels I made as a teen, this is the one that reveals a future direction in my work. The brown circles on Ashley’s face were inspired by her freckles and they foreshadow the way I like to run away with patterns. They are proof of the incorrigible doodad-lover in me.