Brett Varney started working professionally in the arts about a year after he graduated from the University of Washington (Seattle) in 1988. His first creative works were hand-pulled serigraphs (or silk-screen prints). He do not recall how many actual images he created, but he hand-printed and sold his serigraphs until 1996. It was at that time, he finally realized that all those printing inks, thinning solvents and screen cleaning chemicals were extremely toxic and very harmful to his health. So he turned to what he have always found enjoyable – drawing. Creating screens to print through required his drawing of course, but silk-screening did not allow him to be spontaneous with colour and texture. Every serigraph he produced was totally planned out in advance. There was not room to change an idea in mid-stream. So he looked for a drawing medium that was still hands-on and intense in color. He had purchased a set of oil pastels but had not yet found the time to experiment with them; he was still printing serigraphs – he had to make a living of course.