Judy Woods – Friday Night Guest – October 28, 2022

(Submitted by Chris Luna)

Judy Woods is an abstract painter born in Rotorua, New Zealand.  She graduated from Otago Polytechnic School of Fine Arts in 1985 and after attending Teachers College she taught art for 15 years.  Her approach to teaching at that time was to plan, teach techniques and provide structure to students in order to successfully execute work.  Now she teaches her own courses in finding authenticity; finding your own style; finding your voice. 

In 2014 she experienced a lifestyle change by moving to the country with her creative outlet focused on gardening.  In 2016 her father died and this awakened the need to throw herself wholeheartedly into painting again as a way to deal with grief.

Over the past five years she has been exploring painting intuitively playing with materials and ideas such as accidental mark making, using mixed media and works on wood panels and canvas.  She has won several National Art Awards, as well as 1st place for “Hydrangea Heaven” in an International Juried Exhibition in 2021.  During the pandemic she started to teach online and created “The Upbeat Artist Group ” that includes free tutorials and a “Fix and Finish” pop-up group on Facebook.  She also leads an online mentor-ship program called “stARTS”.

In this presentation to DVAC she showed us HER COMPLETE PROCESS of creating a painting with a video called “PLAY”.  Using techniques of building a painting in layers, adding collage elements including fabric on canvas by affixing with heavy gel mediums, accidental and intentional mark making, adding and removing paint, and adding texture with fine lines juxtaposed with solid mass she creates work that culminates in a rich balance of design, color and value. 

We thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated her emotional and therapeutic approach to creating art.  Thank you Judy for sharing your insights and expertise in helping us with an understanding and appreciation for abstract art.

Judy’s Social Media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judywoods_artist

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw0YqSJWSuhCQyshuXd6KYA Judy Woods Art

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudyWoodsart

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.nz/judywoods_artist

website: https://www.judywoodsart.work/