Lost in Thought

I tried a different approach to this piece  I first started with a graphite pencil drawing, then began to add watercolor and several small passes of pastel. Recently I had visited an exhibition of Van Gogh's work at the Denver Art Museum and was completely inspired by his use of mixed media. In his drawings he regularly combined pencil, pen, ink, watercolor and even a touch of gouache paint. I thought if Van Gogh did it...I could too! I really had fun layering these mediums together and in the end, all of the layering really created a soft, aethereal presence. 
The model is my neighbor, Morgan, whom continues to be my muse. The plants surrounding her are in my succulent/cactus garden outside my back door. My second passion besides art is gardening and it was rather nice to be able to include some of my plants into this painting. I spend so much time looking at the plants and caring for them....watering, weeding, trimming and now I had the opportunity to paint them.