Judy Richards is not the kind of artist to paint a bowl of carefully arranged fruits.
And she’s not one to paint expansive meadows either.
"You get a feeling for what you’re doing and I love the figure more than anything," said Richards.
It shows.
Twenty-two watercolor paintings in the artist’s exhibit at the Haworth Public Library feature female models hunched forward in their chairs, or sprawled lazily across the floor.
The River Edge artist worked as a commercial artist for 25 years, specializing in label and packaging design. Upon retirement, Richards then opted for activities she loves: tutoring English as a second language classes, yoga and life drawing.
She enrolled in art classes at the Art Center in Northern New Jersey in New Milford and found that watercolor painting caught her seasoned artist’s eye.
"It is so loose and spontaneous," she said, seated coolly in the exhibition room.
Since her first watercolor efforts in 1995, Richards has showcased her paintings in galleries and exhibits throughout the metropolitan area. The Haworth exhibit this month includes some of her earlier work, which dates back to 1996.
Most watercolor artists paint on flat surfaces, controlling the flow of paint with horizontal brush strokes. But not Richards, who admitted she would "like to be spontaneous" in her painting.
Instead, the artist paints vertically using an easel because "some running [of paint] is good," she said.
In a painting titled "Day dream," Richards balances the lightness of the woman’s citrus-colored dress with the background darkness of purple-tinged walls.
She said she achieves this look by applying transparent coats of paint. Then if there is a mistake, another advantage to transparent colors is that she can always go back and "fix it," she said.
Most artists will use opaque colors to catch the viewer’s attention. Richards said she places the emphasis on gestures and form.
The figures, beginning with "Between Poses" to "Puck," have each muscle and curve exaggerated in a charcoal or pencil outline. Richard agreed that she aims for "volume" – using loose lines to create a wholesomeness to each subject.
Her style may even at times be considered "suggestive," related Richards, who later pointed to an alleged "suggestive" painting hung near the library circulation desk. The painting was of another female model leaning forward on a barstool, her upper thigh largely exposed.
"Art is always a surprise anyways," she said, appearing to brush aside the comment.
Richards admitted that her ultimate goal might be to spark interest, but to also "become better at what I’m trying to do."
Her next venue will be at the Art Center in Northern New Jersey in an exhibit with members of the Art Center Watercolor Affiliates. The ACWA show runs for three weeks this month.
"It isn’t like you’re constantly going uphill," she said of her artwork. "[Yet] the longer you do something, it evolves."
E-mail: gonzalezso@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6711
