There were comments of astonishment and appreciation for the detailed colored pencil works by artist Cathy Heller during her reception Sunday for her one-woman show at the Pine Shores Art Association’s gallery in Manahawkin.

“How does she do it? What patience! Just beautiful!”

The artist ,from Little Egg Harbor Township, spends months bent over her drawing board to finish her larger pieces that she enters in the Colored Pencil Society of America’s annual International Colored Pencil Exhibit.