My entry for the 2007 Portrait Swap is with Diana Mae Potts. Most of the time when I start a new art piece it's inspired by a piece of wood. Not only was this piece my first portrait swap, it was the first piece I had an image in my head before I had the "canvas" picked out.

Inspired by a sketch of Diana's of an Empress in Heian period juni-hitoe, I chose to do Diana's portrait in a similar outfit. I first woodburned the noble Diana and the background on a cross-cut half round section of white atlantic cedar. The structure in the background was smudged with an antiquing gel to blend the coloring into the background. The "overcoats" were painted with acrylics in bright colors, representing the bright fall colors. The entire piece is sealed in a non yellowing poly urethane, to help show off the beauty of the cross-cut section as well.