I wanted my portrait of this African juvenile to show the vertical thrust of youth. The young giraffe rises from a profusion of grasses, and its patterned, rust-colored spots follow the curve of the neck nearly to the top of the paper. I wanted to suggest the dust-infused atmosphere of Africa, using blended dry colors of muted gray and saffron in the soft, multi-textured background of this original print. In spite of its size, the giraffe is a strangely delicate animal, therefore I used rather delicate pastel colors and avoided contrast. - RB