She Flies Alone Series

Here is one of my more recent "balloon"paintings from my series: "She Flies Alone." It is unfinished and untitled.

Artistic Inspiration: Pamela Wilson

There are artists who inspire by their sheer genius, unique vision and talent. Pamela Wilson is one of those gifted artists. Read this recent article form the Ramshacle Review to gain a glimpse into the magical creations of this gifted painter. I am awed and inspired.
"Feathered Hopes and Intriguing Dreams"...

Antechamber of Regret

Pamela Wilson

http://ramshacklereview.blogspot.com/2010/09/feathered-hopes-and-intriguing-dreams.html.

Upcoming Exhibits

Art Connections 7
January 18-February 19, 2011
Montclair State University
George Segal Gallery
1 Normal Ave.
Montclair, NJ 07043

Juried exhibit
Accepted for display and sale:
"In A Boy's Dream"
24" x 24" oil on wood

montclair.edu/Arts/galleries/
Inspired by an image of my beautiful nephew, Brady Estelle.
For commissioned custom children's portraits , please contact me through my website or on Facebook.

Tell Me A Story: "I Don't Really Want To Be The Queen"

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The "Tell Me A Story" series is an ongoing group of images inspired by my daughter Christina, who when she was little would insist that I repeatedly tell her stories. She was fascinated with stories about my childhood, her childhood and about the lives of those she loved. After years of hearing my tales, complete with exaggeration , altered details and added fictional embellishments to save myself from the monotony, it became difficult to distinguish between reality and the imaginary.These paintings have a more illustrative and narrative quality than my typical works and are wrought with symbolism. Dandelion dreams, buttercups,a marriage of interior and exterior, are symbolic elements that support the elusive nature of this visual tale. Every component of my paintings, every stroke, sequence of numbers and letters...matters...or does it? Tell me your story....my paintings reveal mine.

Sharing

When I create, it is from my heart. My work has been criticized as overly sentimental , intense, haunting and "feminine." Somehow that is a compliment because I myself have been "characterized" using those same descriptors. I paint who I am and how I feel. I don't know any other way. Taste in art is obviously very subjective ,as is taste in anything. I hope that others appreciate my work ,but am not offended when they do not or cannot.

Recently I received a request for permission to post my work and words on another blog, Artodyssey.It is a beautiful site featuring a compilation of artist's biographies, exhibits, articles and works. Through it I discovered the creations of many artists like myself who create in response to the fragility,beauty,pain,hope and promise of a more universal, yet intimate, human experience. I was especially moved by the images of the Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado. He states, "What I want is the world to remember the problems and the people I photograph. What I want is to create a discussion about what is happening around the world and to provoke some debate with these pictures. Nothing more than this. I don't want people to look at them and appreciate the light and the palate of tones. I want them to look inside and see what the pictures represent, and the kind of people I photograph."

Just one example of the powerful images created by Sebastiao Salgado

It is an honor to be included on this site amongst so many "colleagues" that create with similar passion and purpose. Art is an extension of the individual who creates it but, when shared, it has the power to forge connections, impact change, reveal beauty and give voice to concepts and situations that might otherwise go unnoticed. Please visit http://artodyssey1.blogspot.com/ . I hope that you discover, "notice" and appreciate our work.Thank you again to Art Odyssey Jazz for generously sharing.

"May you always see the beauty in the world around you, especially when it seems most difficult to find. It is there..." In recent months, I have ceased creating and myself have struggled to see the "beauty" but it is in abundance and surrounds us. At times we need friends, old and new, to remind us to open our eyes wide and SEE what is right before us. It is there. It is within us. Peace and love, Jude

A human being is a part of a whole, called by us 'universe', a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.~ Albert Einstein



In Process: The Red Shoe Series: Masked

Me with three paintings from my recent series: The Red Shoes:Masked.

Please Join Me:

The Guild of Creative Arts~Broad St.~Shrewsbury~juried show...
Sunday October 3, 2010
2 pm-5 pm

I have 3 works exhibited and for purchase! See you there!
Jude oxox

Follow Up:

I am very honored to have received the award for "First Place: Excellence in Painting". It was actually for a previously painted work, finished over three years ago entitled: "Fly: Catcher of Dreams." This composition was one of my first completed works after not having painted for nearly 20 years. It masks many failed efforts beneath the highly textured surface and was nearly abandoned and scrapped. The pleasure and learning really are in the process. The true "value" of the art, was in the experience and creation of it. Thank you again to the assistant curator from the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum of Rutgers University and to the co-curators and judges of the Guild of Creative Art in Shrewsbury, NJ for recognizing my efforts.

Taking Off the Mask: The Red Shoe Series

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress. ~Bruce Barton