After moving to Wyoming in 1993, I began work on a series of branding scenes. These charcoal drawings explore the time-honored spring rites in the American West; the branding of calves. Like the café series, they explore the community of family and friends in the ranching culture. The isolation exists in the vast landscapes, but not in the drawings; instead they are snapshots of stillness in what is a frenetic event; the swirling of horses, the bawling of calves, the dust and the smell of burnt flesh and hair.

The medium I use for these large drawings is charcoal. I try to reduce the image to a series of forms, of shadows and light, without the distraction of color. I try to suggest movement and tension through the use of composition and the many textures that charcoal is capable of producing. All of the images are 26x40.

I have also illustrated many wildlife books, brochures and posters. I live with my husband on a ranch on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River in Wyoming.