I just did a deep dive into pastels. It had been easily 15 years since I had used the medium and I wanted to concentrate some time into developing a quick rhythm and my own style with soft pastels.

The following is the 2023 collection of pastels.

A small site specific sketch of the spring cherry blossoms in Central Park’s Conservatory Gardens. A joyous burst of color on a sunny day.

I brought this vase home from a party. It cast an interesting shadow on my green wall the next morning. Pastels are my favourite for catching a quick moment on paper.

Sitting in Madison Square Park getting ready to go look at a new art studio in Murray Hill. It felt windy and fateful in the park that day. Portentous

Afternoon was my first step into large format with pastels. I kept it loose and reverted to my default sketch of feminine, shells, growing plants, and sunlight. These are themes in my sketchbooks sense my youth. Reverting to my comfort sketches allowed me to strictly focus on the material in my hand and discover its strengths as a tool. I really enjoyed scribbling out this image. It’s peaceful beauty is solely due to my joy with pastels.

City is a playful abstraction of the walls of the city viewed as a pattern.

Great fires we’re destroying the gorgeous Canadian Forests. Our heartbreak over this disaster was compounded by the eventual smoke which enveloped the entire city. The worst of it came all in one day. That afternoon was completely surreal. Like a science fiction movie but, you were living it. I sat at my studio window and tried to match the color exactly.

There is a certain magical feeling to quietly lounge on a fire escape and just listen to and observe the city around you.

Summer morning on the East River. is a pastel of city dwellers living life – these are my neighbours. We coexist and I’m so grateful for it. I really do love New Yorkers.

Summer of 23 is an abstract sketch of my overall experience this summer. It felt hot and manic. The government authorities have finally admitted to us that aliens are real. ok. And Barbenheimer became a thing because the big movies of the summer are Barbie and Oppenheimer. Barbie’s message is right on point with my own but I’m disturbed to see pink everywhere. And of course, the pork pie hat comes back because Cillian Murphy makes it look so damn good. . You may notice the white chair being lifted up. I celebrate the battle of Montgomery as a great relief to finally see people fight back against racism. This sketch is a lot. She has a strong pink chaos energy and well, I like it.

That’s it for now for me with pastels. I’ll be using them more often now that I’ve regained a comfort with them. Currently, I’m working on a large canvas oil painting of a woman standing on her front stoop .

Stay Tuned 🙏🏼