Garden Girl features my favorite portrait elements - strong light and shadow and a subject with character.  I started this colored pencil portrait on a cold, winter day in Chicago...somehow it seemed to brighten the grayness of the day.  The model for it is one of my favorites  - a granddaughter who's wisdom, grace AND whimsy seems to shine through in every image we have of her.  This setting of this painting looks realistic, but is actually more of a decorative pattern, like wallpaper.  I used an Icarus Board and Prismacolor wax-based pencils for this piece.  The Icarus is a heated drawing board that makes the pencils soft and blend-y.  It keeps my hands warm in my studio, too!