Art has been a part of Judy’s life as far back as her memories go. Since early childhood she has loved to make things, creating every sort of art and craft. Her first art award was for a crayon drawing her teacher named “The Calico Cat” – when she was in the first grade!
As her career as a commercial artist winds down, Judy is grateful for more opportunity to indulge in her art passion. She loves capturing everyday subjects which surround her in rural East Tennessee, such as wildflowers, farm scenes, interesting characters, wildlife and birds, old vehicles, and landscapes. Judy paints in a highly realistic manner with a unique sensitivity to detail which has won her many art awards. International watercolor artist and author Lian Quan Zhen, who chose Judy’s painting “Eat Chicken” as Best In Show in the 2018 Tennessee Watercolor Society Exhibition, described her work as “…not only mastering the techniques, but also making ordinary into beauty, with a unique personal style.”
Judy began painting with watercolors in 1980, while teaching art in public schools, after receiving a B.A. in Creative Arts summa cum laude. "I was teaching drawing and painting at the high school level at a time when my own creative outlets were primarily 3-dimensional like fiber work and pottery. I figured I should be honing my skills in what I was teaching, and I enrolled in an introductory watercolor class, taught by a local artist whose work I loved. By the end of the course, I was hooked on watercolors!"
Judy worked in watercolors for many years after that, as time permitted while her career shifted to graphic art. Her early paintings were mostly shared with family and friends. With a move to St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1990s, Judy became part of a very active art community. She began to paint more, refined her art skills, and started exhibiting in galleries and shows. She developed a distinctive style with dynamic use of color and dramatic lighting. She learned to use strong contrast and sharp edges to carry the viewer’s eye to the center of interest, softening and muting tones in the rest of the painting. "I've never been one to use watercolors in a fluid, loose manner. Even as a child I would rub a wet brush around and around in the little square of color in my paint box, to get the paint really thick and dark.... I guess I never grew out if that!" It was while in Florida that Judy began to enter watercolor competitions and gain recognition for her work locally, regionally, and statewide.
Judy made a conscious shift from watercolors to acrylics in the late 90s. "Acrylics allow me to work in a variety of painting methods and on numerous surfaces,” Judy reveals, “But I can’t deny my love of transparent watercolors.” In recent years Judy has expanded her skills to create unique artwork on scratchboard panels. She uses black-surfaced Scratchbord™ and the white surfaces of Aquabord™ and Claybord™, sometimes in combination with watercolors, colored inks, or acrylics. In her scratchboard paintings, Judy captures amazing detail and extraordinary textures, and they are received with much acclaim.
"Being an artist has made me more aware of my surroundings and more observant of the effects of light and shadows."
Judy at the Knoxville Museum of Art in 2012
"Being an artist has made me more aware of my surroundings and more observant of the effects of light and shadows,” Judy explains, “And my subjects seem to find me.” As a resident of Tennessee for 20+ years, Judy finds a wide variety of themes to inspire her. Most often, she has the finished painting pictured in her mind before it is even started. “I love to present subjects in a way which most people don't take the time to see themselves,” the artist says. “I like exaggerating colors, or sometimes altering them from reality, and I try to preserve a moment in time, recreating the subject in my own way.” Interesting textures - like weathered barn boards, animal fur, and rusty old trucks - inspire her, as do delicate unfurling flowers and brightly lit landscapes. Too many ideas, not enough hours in the day!
Judy loves to encourage other artists and readily shares her art experiences and expertise. Her natural love of teaching comes through in her Art Blog - packed with information, stories, and photos which document her inspirations, experimentations, and techniques. She has created numerous how-to art videos, posted on her website and on YouTube. Judy also presents workshops on scratchboarding and enjoys giving demos of this intriguing art medium.
With her work in private collections in the US and abroad, Judy continuously exhibits in local, statewide, and regional juried shows, with an impressive list of awards. Her paintings have been featured in solo shows and in national art publications. In recent years she has been juried in as a member of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists, selected as one of 50 Ampersand Art Ambassadors, chosen as the 2019 Artist of the Year for the Great Smoky Mountains Wildflower Pilgrimage, and awarded “signature” status in several watercolor societies. Judy welcomes commissioned paintings, particularly pet portraits.
Any story of Judy's life as an artist is not complete without inclusion of her best friend Rick, her husband since 1976. From the time they became high school sweethearts, he was the one who spurred her on to pursue her love of art, when another career path would have likely set it on the back burner. Without his partnership, encouragement, support, and pragmatic criticism, Judy would not be the artist she is today.
