Back in the late ‘80s, I got a set of Derwent watercolor pencils. I didn’t use water with them. Just drew as-is. Even so, I loved the textures and realism I could get.

Mushrooms were my main subject. A few fish too. My favorite technique? Burnishing with the white pencil. It smoothed out the colors, blended everything, and hid pencil marks.

I recently found these old drawings tucked in a notebook. Nearly 40 years old. Some of my earliest work. I framed them. Now they’re on display.

A reminder of where I started.