Wade works exclusively in pastel; he is drawn to the intimacy of the chalk and the ease with which he can blend colors. The magic happens in his studio, a converted shed just off his main house. The studio, equipped with 15-foot ceilings and a house gutter to catch all the pastel dust, is set on 5 1/2 acres of farmland in Lyman, Maine, just a few miles from the Kennebunk farm on which he grew up. When Wade needs a break, he goes for a drive to soak up the New England landscape—his biggest inspiration—or tends to his flowers, gardens, and fruit trees. Then he returns to his studio, refreshed and ready to make more magic.