“These early pastel images combined my interest in folk art and a love of animals. I preferred simple shapes and bold colors over realistic detail. Having no formal training I found oil pastels the perfect medium for my drawings -- they were like fancy crayons! I often worked on black paper. It gave a natural outline to each shape and really popped certain colors. While my mediums have changed over the years, I remain enamored with all sorts of critters, their habitat, and sometimes the habitat I imagine for them.” – Susan Simmons Becker