The pastel painting "A Walk in Cape May"

This is a colorful pastel that has somewhat of a 3D effect as I separately drew the characters and cut them out and then put them on top of the pastel background of the Cape May park and gazebo.

The main character in this piece is a red panda by the name of Ned who lives in New Jersey so he goes by the name "Ned Jersey". His best friend is a Shorebird who doesn't migrate away from the NJ shore.

a closeup of Ned

This has already had somewhat of a "showing" of sorts as it has been hung in the office where I work.  I like the character a lot and I'm going to incorporate him as a small component of the Jurascals comic strip (for instance when the little girl in the Jurascals comic strip is fixated about getting a particular brand of Mac and Cheese, it's because it's Ned's Mac and Cheese or if she reads a children's book, she might read about Ned's adventures).  So Ned will definitely have a life outside this painting and I expect to do even more with the character in the years to come. 

I want to thank the Margolis family for holding such a memorable tribute to their son with the Benjamin Margolis 5th Annual Memorial Fundraiser. It was an honor to have this painting be contributed to such a worthy cause and I am looking forward to next year's event.