Not Always Artful

What do I mean? Well, surviving a fire, moving, throwing out paintings, clothes etc has not been the artful life I expected, but I have been creative in my dealing with it. And that is still going on with how to have a more mobile studio.

Now it is a focus of mine to paint and draw as often as possible. I got to take a break from all the fire damage and go to my planned painting workshop with Stuart Shils at the Truro Center For The Arts at Castle Hill.  He suggested doing fast paintings to develop my "visual musculature" as he would say, to learn how to see and respond to what I see. What a challenge to do 22 minute paintings about  9" x 12"  or so. Now to do the work: "to do one punch, one must do a million punches."

Painting Empty

"Downtown Shadows"

Oil on Paper

7" x 11.5"

What do I mean painting empty? Feeling empty, tired, But what really is "empty"? For me empty means, ironically, too full, had a tiring day or week of work. It means I need "defragging": clearing out all the garbage in my brain so I can create. Today, I decided no ideas coming so, just show up at the easel to paint. I think the process of painting defragged my brain; just the process of doing it helped empty my brain, made me feel clearer. This is the defragging painting above, quickly photographed and probably will see stuff to change later.

Do you feel this way at times?  Please feel free to share with me your feelings and your methods to jump start yourself  are post here are click my facebook link to share on  Judy Holder's Studio.

Tiny Art Show

Evening Sun

oil on panel

3.25" x 3"

Showing a few tiny paintings with other artist at The Kitchen Gallery July 6th Sat 6-9pm. All paintings under 6".  Come and enjoy the Tiny Art Show closing, 140c State St / Green St in New London CT.

2013 Connecticut Women Artists Members Juried Exhibition

"Thames Moonlight 1"
Oil on Panel, 9" x 12"

Two of my Thames Moonlight series paintings have been accepted for the Connecticut Women Artists, Inc. (CWA)  2013 Members Juried Exhibition in West Hartford. I joined the CWA this year and this is my first time exhibiting with them. Vivian Zoe, director of the Slater Memorial Museum is this year's juror, so being accepted is a genuine honor and compliment.

The exhibition runs June 1- June 21,  2013, at the West Hartford Art League Clubhouse Gallery, 37 Buena Vista Road; opening reception and awards ceremony takes place Sunday June 9, 2-4 pm.


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"Thames Moonlight 2"
Oil on Panel, 9" x 12"

 The emotional pull of the full moon sometimes draws me outside to looking at and, in this instance, painting the view. But it's difficult to time things just right, so that I am there at that moment, to see the full moon, to capture the expansive sky and reflections under the moon's light.  So often when I see a perfect view of the moon that begs me to paint it, I'm in my car driving on the way to somewhere else.

Hazy Spring Day

8.50" x 8.50 " oil on paper

This piece was inspired by a misty day at Conn College Arboretum in New London CT.  I challenged myself to use more white pigment than I usually do.  White is a double-edged sword in a painting: it's useful for creating a sense of "distance", but it can also create muddy or chalky tones. This time I got the balance to my liking. I enjoyed creating the feeling of an overcast misty day with chromatic gray trees, against a sliver of new spring green grass.