Painting It Out

Seeking Solace: "Shhhhhhhhhhh....Quiet....please!"

Often I feel as though I cannot paint because I am unable to silence the ongoing conversations that take place between my head and my heart:) This self portrait that I began tonight ( 1' x 4') seemed appropriate as I tried to quiet my mind. I believe as I invest more of myself in my work,I will find where it is I belong.It is when the "noise" is greatest, that I need to work most. Painting is very much like meditation.Tonight I thought only of color, the strokes of paint, the movement of my brush and the smell of the pigments.I was lost in the rythym of my work. Pure peace....mind, body and spirit. Shhhhhhhhhhhhh. Listen to your heart! ~

Wildflower Underpainting: In Process

Day # 3 I'm uncertain how to proceed and not "feeling" a resolution. I 'll work on another piece. I gave this an hour of time and "effort" and think it best to work on some other smaller works in process This is about 3' x 7' and although my intention was to use an array of materials, I'm working exclusively with oils and charcoal. I tend to be reactive and rushed when I paint. I'm trying to be more thoughtful about my work... well for the moment anyway and anyone who knows me, knows that might change in an hour or so:)
Day # 2. Not much headway made or time invested this evening, but I decided I'm gonna paint like I mean it. As I was teaching today, one of my students made what she believed to be a grave error...as grave as one could be for a Kindergartner:). As I showed her how she might resolve this unexpected mishap and to think how it might actually enhance her work, I thought about my own paintings. There really are no such things as mistakes...There are only opportunities to learn and challenge ourselves to be more creative and innovative. There is nothing else I'd rather be doing at this moment. I painted. My children hung out in my studio as I did. It doesn't get much better than that.

As with most of my work, I rarely do preliminary sketches. I usually have a vague idea of where I am headed. I like that the paintings evolve and that the end result often masks layers of my initial marks that don't even resemble what is seen by the observer. I did have a more defined concept for this piece but then I picked up charcoal and that distracted and redirected my thoughts about how I will proceed. I am certain many aspects of this painting will be revised,marked and masked.Here is day #1. I'm just glad to have painted:)

Painting

In process  untitled

As usual, I have lots of works in process. While I work, I think. Dangerous at times.My family calls it "Judy's world." I am starting my newest "Wildflower" image.I'm looking forward to the scale and the use of color: BIG....and cerulean skies with  pure, glowing gold and a full feminine form.I can see it:) I spoke with a fellow artist at our exhibit yesterday about the "need" to paint. It can only be explained as gasping for much needed air.It is like breathing,sleeping,eating...necessary. I took a break from my preferred routine for the past several months. I can offer excuses as to why but I thought to myself as I've begun again, why do I ever refrain from doing what it is I love to do most? Why deny myself that which nurtures my spirit most? I was unable to breathe. How strange that all I had to do was open a window ........and paint.

Ecstasy of Gold

Art Connections 6 Exhibit: You're Invited!

TODAY! Hope To See You There!

Art Connections 6 Exhibit

George Segal Gallery

Montclair State University

Opening Reception:

Sunday, January 17, 2010

2:00 - 5:00 pm
Exhibit Dates: 1/17-2/13, 2010

They Were Here

In Process: Day # 1

The images of a devastated and heartbroken Haiti ,flood the internet. They are unavoidable. One image in particular struck me as ironically ,very beautiful. Amid the destruction, a large tent city was erected by the survivors made from salvaged blankets, sheets and fabric. It provided shelter from the sun. It was centralized,organized and evidence of a living community....evidence that despite the worst, life continues and so must the effort to sustain it.The photograph was an aerial view and the suspended fabric of this makeshift roof looked like a hand sewn quilt of colored textile patches. Where there is life, there is beauty.
Tonight I began two images. The larger one with the child, surrounded by pink, is inspired, in part by that fabric tent city. The pinks, reds and blues, in contrast to the grey of the debris, reminded me of wildflowers, blossoming alongside an urban highway...beauty where and when you least expect it.
Lives senselessly lost, are dreams lost.The images, the media coverage, the art, the global outcry acknowledge that these lives mattered...they were here.
I Was Here

Share Your Life,Your Love,Your Light

In God's reality, the more you give of yourself--in feeling, generosity, self-expression, goodness, creativity, and love--the more you will be given ~ Deepak Chopra

On Jan. 12, 2010, an earthquake struck Haiti, already one of the most impoverished, and politically unstable countries in the western hemisphere. The aftermath is tragic beyond words. More than 50,000 people are feared dead . We are all witness to the devastation via continuous media coverage . For me, the images of the children, both dead and alive, are particularly haunting. Personally, there is nothing more beautiful than the smile of a child...and nothing more painful than a child in pain. Children are typically my favorite source of subject matter. I am inspired by their untainted beauty and easy acceptance of life. I cannot imagine creating an image that sufficiently captures the misery of this "moment" but I feel compelled to work more than in months past. There is beauty there...in Haiti, in the efforts of the rescue workers ,in the selflessness of the global community, in the anonymous and abundant donations of many forms of assistance and in the spirit of the survivors...in the eyes and faces of those children. I will paint the beauty.
As an artist, I have changed hats temporarily, undertaking a collaborative project that involves the tragic existence of another devastated community ...located in Central America. Because it is in progress and in the initial stages, I am unable to share images or information.I am genuinely glad to be illustrating for such a worthwhile endeavor. I was attracted to the work because of my interest in the children. I have been absent from my fine art and the internet, save for some basic correspondence... but have responded to inquiries from Cafe Press and other arts organizations to donate work on behalf of Hatian relief. As an artist, I create work inspired by great love and loss, but always with the notion that I am not alone and that my experiences and emotions are shared. So as artists, what greater gift can we give in this time of need, than our ART? I offer, without hesitation, my work, myself, my passion. We all have something to give.....if only our prayers.