My soft pastel work shares the same core artistic philosophy as my watercolours: a dedication to loose, expressive mark-making, vivid colors, and capturing the essence of a scene over photo-realism. However, pastels offer a distinct creative process; unlike watercolours, I work from dark to light, layering colors opaquely or blending them by smudging. A unique feature of my pastels is my choice to draw on black automotive sandpaper. The grit of this unconventional surface allows for exceptional layering of multiple colors. These pieces are intentionally small and intimate, never exceeding 8x10 inches, and their bold mark-making stands in striking contrast to the subtleties of watercolour, reflecting the chunky nature of the pastels themselves.