ARTIST STATEMENT
I paint the now. There are no yesterdays or tomorrows, only this moment, this emotion.
From my earliest memories I have been an artist. There are no words that can describe the journey artists take as they create. When people view my work and I am asked “what does that mean?” I realize there are no concrete answers. When I say "because" what I mean is the image I create is the product of many subconscious decisions. The result is that my work is very abstract. I am excited by the process of communicating these abstract ideas through light, color, movement, balance, impression, expression.
After many experiments with various mediums, my process has evolved into using projected light through layers of encaustic monoprints. Projected light vs reflected light changes the texture, color and adds transparency to my pieces. Inside each of my paintings I search to find a nugget of the truth I am seeking, answers to questions I really cannot formulate. When people view my work, I hope they find little nuggets of truth also.
ARTIST BIO
Judy graduated from Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art with a degree in Graphic Design and proceeded to embark on a 35 year career in design. As a graphic designer, her role was to provide a solution to a customer's specific problem using various visual mediums. She loved working on a diverse set of corporate-based challenges, using graphic means to communicate a sometimes complicated message. All of this was great training for a leap into the world of fine art.
In 2012 she was introduced to encaustics at a museum exhibit and thus began her voyage as a fine artist.
1972-2012 Principal, Uppercase Design
2014 Juried into Marblehead Arts Association, Marblehead, MA
2014 Honorable Mention, New Members exhibit at MAA.
2015 Solo show MAA
2015 Group show at Brushstroke Gallery, Marblehead Ma
2015 Juried into Rockport Art Association & Museum, Gloucester, Ma
2016 Juried shows RAAM
2017 Honorable Mention Experimental Group Exhibition at the RAAM
2017 Juried into Group Exibition at North Shore Arts Association
2107 Juried into national show at Museum of Encaustic Art, Santa Fe, N M
Featured artist in Winter 2017 encaustic arts magazine
2018 Group show at Massachusetts State House
2018. Experimental Award, Rockport Art Association & Museum, MA
2018. Solo Exhibit, Rockport Art Association & Museum, MA
2018 Juried into exhibit Charles Fine Art
2019 Juried into Monotype Guild of New England Regional Show
2019 Juried into National Show RAA&M
Professional Memberships:
International Encaustic Artists
Rockport Art Association & Museum
Marblehead Arts Association
Monotype Guild of New England
Board of Directors, Montserrat College of Art
Watch my How-To Video
Fayum Mummy Portrait
History of Encaustics
The word "encaustic" comes from the Greek, to “burn in”, which refers to the process of fusing the paint.
Encaustic painting was developed by the ancient Greek shipbuilders, who used hot wax to fill cracks in their ships. Soon pigment (color) was added and this led to painting on the surface of the waxed hull: an art form was born. This technique was used in the Fayum mummy portraits from Egypt around 100-300 AD.
Diego Rivera
Over the intervening centuries encaustic was overtaken by many other types of paint—including tempera, oil, and acrylic paints—each of which was cheaper, faster, and easier to work with. Artists experimented with encaustic in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it wasn't until the 20th century that is's use really revived. With the availability of portable electric heating devices for the melting of the wax, use of encaustic has become more popular and many contemporary painters consider it an attractive painting medium. Modern painters who have used encaustic include Robert DeLaunay, Diego Rivera, and Jasper Johns.
About Encaustic Medium
Encaustic medium is composed of beeswax, damar resin, and pure pigments. Encaustic paint is applied molten to an absorbent surface, and fused, (or re-melted), to create a variety of effects. Once the surface has cooled, the paint has reached a permanent finish. The painting can be reworked with heat at any time, minutes or years later.