“Windswept.” 16×20. Oil on Canvas
Judy Horning Shaw
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
“When I began my art career it was an act for which I was punished—drawing and coloring on my bedroom walls. That did not stop me, though I did move on to art that uses more traditional materials—currently oil paints with some acrylics, watercolors or drawing materials thrown in for spice. At that young age, I was making drawings and botanical notes about the plants of my surroundings along the coast. Later I began drawing or painting people, places, and things. My focus is still largely representational—painting the things I experience and feel that have an inherent beauty either of appearance or of being. I also enjoy an occasional foray into abstraction.
“Far Reaching.” 18×24. Oil on canvas
Judy Horning Shaw
The purpose of my art-making continues to be much the same as when I was six and making those wall drawings—I am curious about what I am actually experiencing—beyond the obvious, beyond just appearances. I paint as a way to understand. When painting people, I am trying to understand who they are; how does their accumulated life experience show in their appearance, posture or surroundings? If more than one, how do they relate? The same could be true of trees, mountains or the ocean.
“Sentinels.” 12x 24. Oil on canvas
Judy Horning Shaw
A landscape is a living thing trying to fulfill its nature, but often constrained by forces outside its control. What does that look or feel like? How do I come to understand it? First, I paint from direct observation as much as possible as this enables me to see and feel the subject first hand. My painting technique is to marry various thicknesses of paint and types of marks to express the appearance and nature of the subject. I also aim to use colors in a naturalistic way to fine-tune the light that expresses time of day, season and/or emotion. It is my hope you will explore with me in my journey to seek an understanding of the nature of things, and take away from it a deeper appreciation for connecting to the world.
March 2018 Exhibition
Fairweather House and Gallery
612 Broadway
Seaside, Oregon
Fresh Greens
Featuring resident artists: Karen E. Lewis, Fred Lukens, Richard Newman, Mike Mason and Gayle H. Seely.
Welcoming artist Judy Horning Shaw.
Grace note received:
“I am very happy to see the Statement woven in with the thumbnails; it is just lovely, and I am very appreciative of the time and effort you have put in to promoting my work.” –-Judy Horning Shaw
Judy Horning Shaw offered an artist lecture during the FRESH GREENS opening reception.