i love when you make a wonderful discovery about a friend. shayna larsen and i had boys in the same soccer league for several years. we sat on the sidelines of games chatting about mom things on many saturday mornings. until a few months ago, i had no idea that she is a gifted watercolorist. i happened upon her paintings on facebook and was completely smitten. shayna primarily paints animal portraits and has begun focusing on spirit animals. i call them portraits because she somehow makes their eyes so compelling and powerful that you feel like you are looking right into their souls. often she paints her subjects in profile so you only see one eye, or when animals are depicted face on, the second eye is not shown. there is so much warmth and compassion in her work that you feel the expanse of her understanding and respect for the animal.