Some years ago I came across some tiny little canvases in a shop, that came with a little wooden easel, and at only 9cm by 7cm they were a great size for an ‘easy’ project. I live in a fabulous, small rural community and sneakily took photos of a couple of the neighbouring houses and then had myself a lovely little painting session to paint these houses on the little canvases. They came out quite well, the neighbours loved them, and that was the start of the little houses workshop idea.

This Highland Cow portrait is created on Clairfontaine Pastelmat, slightly larger than A3, and painted using pastel pencils with PanPastels for the background. This original pastel artwork explores texture and depth, capturing the distinctive character of the Highland Cow. Having not worked with pastels for many years, it was a real pleasure to return to pastel pencils and rediscover the medium.