"Himalayan Princess"

I spent so many hours at the Denver Zoo taking photos and studying the animals. On this particular day she was up high napping just out of reach of her playful cubs. She would open her eyes every once in a while and I was lucky enough to get a photo of her looking right at me. 

Clayboard is a piece of masonite with a thin layer of white clay covered by another very thin layer of india ink.  The image is created by removing the ink and revealing the white clay beneath it. I use an x-acto blade to remove the ink and although it is possible, I do not add any ink during the process. Even the dark whiskers are areas I worked around. This was the first clayboard I ever sold.