"Charleston Memory" is pastel on sanded paper, 27x19".  This started out as a literal portrayal of a scene I photographed on a trip to Charleston, a familiar and lovely sun-soaked plaza.  It was pretty enough but not very interesting to me.  I have never experimented with painting pastels with water on a brush so I decided to see what would happen.  There was a good chance it would lift the pastel and the sand off the paper and be toast.  Surprisingly, the water smoothly mixed with the chalk and with minimal application did not disrupt the paper.  The scene took on a dreamlike quality.  I like how the lines sort of walk through it.

"Push and Pull" is acrylic on wood, quite large at 45x96".  This piece was requested for a large open work space after I completed my recent work, "Citrus."  The layering of circles in this technique builds up a very dynamic surface.  While there's a great deal of energy and movement, keeping the palette soft and the grid parallel to the frame lends stability and quietness.  I enjoyed how differently the paint interacted with the wood verses canvas.  It's difficult to see here but the texture created by the repeated application and removal of paint is interesting up close.