Beverley J. Hanna- Original Pastel "Joy of Animals"

In 1997, I was contacted by a representative of the Ontario S.P.C.A. and asked to do an image they could use for "Be Kind to Animals" Week. The image should have farm animals and wildlife as well as the more familiar animals like dogs and cats that people associate with the S.P.C.A. In addition, they wanted to get across the idea that people should try to make their yards and gardens more bird- and butterfly-friendly.

I was given a week and a half to come up with an image. ACK!!
After ten days, I finally had all my reference material together and had figured out how I was going to do the piece, and I begged for more time, knowing I couldn't go from a quick pencil sketch to a finished piece in another 24 hours. I got an extension, and finished the piece in pastel, which is a much faster medium than paint or coloured pencil. It took a total of three weeks from start to finish, though I had very little sleep in that time.

As soon as it was done, I drove blearily to the head office in Newmarket, Ontario, to present my masterpiece. Taking one look at it, the representative said, "Oh, we can't use this for 'Be Kind to Animals' Week. It's much too good for that." As it turned out, this was made into a poster, which has raised many thousands of dollars for the S.P.C.A. Knowing I have been able to help in this way has been one of my proudest accomplishments.