Edge of the Rock Plein Air Painting Event 2011 Paintings by Judith Reidy

Two Boys Fishing Rock River
by Judith Reidy
14 x 11 inches unframed panel
19.5x 16.5 inches framed
oil
$350

In Beloit this week it was really hot. My friend Wendie and I had been painting in the morning near the college (see painting below). The heat was in the upper nineties. We stopped for lunch then drove around looking for a good spot to paint again .

Me Dosing in a Dream
Wendie set up and got right into painting, but I couldn't and decided to 'veg' out on the lawn chair. I was dosing when in a dream state I started watching these little boys fishing across the way. I just had to paint them. I started into the painting and ten minutes in, they disappeared. So here they are from that dream state as I remember them and the the scene.

The President's White House
by Judith Reidy
14 x 11 inches unframed panel
19.5 x 16.5 inches framed
oil
view of Beloit College President's Home
$350

I was immediately drawn to this lovely white building and the flush of white light in the walk way up to the front door. So inviting. I have been working on white objects in shadow. I couldn't pass this one up.

Summer Breeze
by Judith Reidy
11 x 14 inches unframed panel
16.5 x 19.5 inches framed
oil
view of Rock River in Beloit, Wisconsin
$350

We returned a second day of heat in Beloit, where we found a refreshing scene with water and a breeze....that grew hotter as the day went on....

Introducing From Dust to Dust

Fallen for You

From Dust

Fallen Again

As I have explored the effects of light burning away the mists, I have considered what it is in the imagery that has fascinated me. Why was I so drawn to the light and the void of darkness burning away by the light. At the same time I began drawing the people around me. I especially enjoyed doing line drawings of my mother, catching her sighs and her groans and joys in the lines on her face and in her hands and arms. I felt the imagery of real people and the landscapes needed to be brought together as they are in life. I began seeing the human bodies rising out of the earth as new landscapes approached by light, yet oblivious to the light. I have more to consider and discover in this new direction.

I hope you will join me on this adventure.
See the new work at the Wisconsin Pastel Artists Exhibition "Falling for You" at the Art Bar.

Reflections with One Vision- Portraiture

I had some reflections on a wonderful discussion panel this past Friday evening at the Charles Allis Art Museum on which Graeme Reid, Michael Foster, Kattie Musloff and her dear 87 year model where members.

Though I have been a landscape painter most of my career as a painter, I have a fascination with figure work and portraiture for the very reasons they discussed that night.

Particularly, I was attracted to how Katie made her models part of her life. So often as painters we are loners who paint forms or respond to forms as if they were inanimate and we are the ones who give them life in our art. Perhaps, that is what Graeme was referring , when he asked about "objectivity" as a necessity for an artist.

I do at times appreciate when artists take a dis-interesting object and infuse it with life; i.e. paint something ugly beautifully. Nevertheless, while, I, as did the panel, recognize the need for an artist to have an objective technical understanding of the painting before him and in some measure an objective view of what painting is about in general, I often fail to be intrigued by the commonly clinical-like-view that is respected among my contemporary artists when discussing their work "objectively" or mechanically.

What appealed to me in Katie's work was the personal response and respect she maintains for and toward her models... who often become her friends. You may ask what does that have to do with painting or making great art.

In Katie's personal engagement with her models she is able sensitively to begin to connect with the humanity of her model/friends not through a mechanical process but through the her own body kinetically, perceptively and personally in drawing and painting responding to the humanity and life in her subjects before her.

I think that is what made Rembrandt great. Not only was his mind able to connect psychologically with the humanity or soul of his subject, his hand was able to kinetically capture not just the physical likeness but more significantly articulate/capture the soul or humanity before him. That is not objective, but subjective response at its best. His sensibilities matched by his skill, touch a chord that resonates over time and communicates only in the way great art does in truth. This phenomena is the attraction in making paintings and why painting and drawing will never die.

As for myself and my drawings of my mother, I found my line drawings to be very much a kinetic response to my feelings for her and about her. They go beyond a mere likeness. I felt a connection to her moods and her dilemma as an aging woman. I felt elegance and brokenness. I connected in my body with her in my physical response of making art.

What I like about my opportunity with the Lake Country Ten Artist Ten Poets One Vision Project is being able to share my painting “Leaves” based on my drawings of my mother in collaboration and response to my poet, Paula Anderson who has similar sensibilities in writing. In this project, I feel the joy and exhilaration of meaningful human connection as well as the pleasure of kinetic response in painting.

I hope you can join us this Saturday, October 17, at 7 pm at the Raven Gallery in Pewaukee, WI

Judith

My Motivation for Joining the One Vision Project

I am currently part of a collaborative poet/painter program that began this summer. We are having our first presentation this October 17, at 7 pm, at the Raven Gallery outside of Pewaukee on Capitol. I would like to invite you to the poetry reading and the viewing of the artwork.

View today's further uncovering of the piece.

I liked working with my poet, Paula Anderson. I found a poem that she wrote expressed emotionally what I had sensed in making a drawing a few years ago. As she expressed sensibilities in her poetry, I was happy to develop my complementary idea further in making a painting. I found this to be one of the most emotionally honest pieces about being an aging woman; I would like to do more collaboration.

However, the idea is not very pretty, and therefore not appealing to those, which is most of us, who are hesitant to face reality. As an artist who attempts to be honest, I identify with the dilemma of the woman, who is aging. I realized that Paula and I had a common thought on the subject so the project did not seem like illustration, but a natural shared response to life. I liked the common bond it forged between Paula and I.

I would like to meet with other poets and artists and do more of this sort of thing. I hope you can come, perhaps you would like to be part of the next event sharing in our expressed experiences. Perhaps you have a poem or a creative exploration to share in the future. Let us know. Please don't be shy. I would love to see you.

Judith Reidy

34/40 Paintings a Day for 40 Consecutive Days- Birthday Girl II

Birthday Girl II
6" x 7.25"
Watercolor on Paper
$75

This has been a tough Father's day.
My darling, my heart.

"But Zion said, 'The Lord has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.'
' Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me...'
Isaiah 49:14f

33/40 of 40 consecutive Day Painting a Day - Birthday Girl

Birthday Girl
6" x 8"
Watercolor on Paper
$75

Once a little girl full of delight had a birthday party.

30/40 of 40 Consecutive Paintings a Day - King's Head

King's Head
3.75" x 5.25"
Watercolor on Paper
$60

This was taken from an old photo I had. Regal! Aslan!

27/40 of 40 Consecutive Day Painting a Day - Boy

A Boy
6" x 8"
Watercolor on Paper
$75

Painting 26/40 of 40 Consecutive Painting a Day Challenge - Smiling Girl

Smiling Girl
8" x 6"
Watercolor on Paper
$75

I had a great time going through our old family photos when I was preparing the life display poster for my son's high school graduation. Here he is held by his sister in a garden at the Milwaukee domes.