Judy Carter

Artist Statement

I work from nature, interpreting and creating visions of the scenic and botanical wonders of our world. I have enjoyed a long partnership with painting, specifically with the use of water media. I have extended my art through the creation of giclee prints of my original art work. Working with digital images, I recreate subjects creating vivid scenes for contemplative enjoyment. Nature is the primary stimulus for most of my art work. Having lived in many of the northwestern states and enjoyed the great outdoors through experiences fishing, camping, and gardening from an early age, I seek the beauty and intrigue of nature to capture and interpret. Whether close up or far away, there is always much to be experienced and seen in nature. I choose to manipulate what I see into experiences for the viewer, not always evident, such as the changing of the seasons captured in one painting. Whether working with watercolor, acrylic, collage, a combination of mediums, or the digital camera, I hope to suggest my feeling of the subject and the mood of the scene.

Biography

I started to draw and paint at the young age of five, and have been doing so ever since. I enjoy every moment I spend in creating. A fifth grade teacher taught me perspective and opened a new view of the world to me. I made a decision early on in my high school years to become an art teacher, for there were no art teachers in our farming community. Artists of the area banded together to plein-air paint and I was one of a few teenagers that were accepted into the group. We took instruction from these members and then gave instruction as everyone was to help out in the learning process. What a great group and learning experience! I then took instruction at a nearby junior college and had the experience of going to several summer painting workshops with Mary Kirkwood, professor at the University of Idaho. Each experience taught me so much. I received a partial one year scholarship to university and in 1965 headed to school where I studied art and music. I graduated in 1970. Many years of bumping around the northwestern states raising family, then followed. The last, almost thirty years, settled in California. Still I kept painting, teaching art to 4-H young people, art to children in the primary grades of public schools, and exhibiting my work both locally and nationally when I could manage it. Now retired from public education and the family all grown up, I have the time to really concentrate on my art work full force. I am having the time of my life working & studying with other artists, plein-air painting, and teaching art to adults and children. I keep a studio for my indoor art work and teaching. My studio is open to the public in the fall during the Butte County Studio Art Tour. This tour is sponsored by the Arts Council of Butte County in conjunction with the Chico Chamber of Commerce, City of Chico, and the Chico Art Center. My studio can be open the rest of the year, upon appointment. In 2004-2005 I received a commission to create paintings of the ecological reserve in the Big Chico Creek basin. These paintings are being used to support education, research, and preservation of the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve through the University Foundation, CSU Chico. My mottos have long been; “Express yourself, any way you can”, and “Live each moment to its’ fullest”. For more information, contact: information@rubymountaindesign.com

Education

B. S. in Art Education, with a minor in music, University of Idaho, 1970 Single Art Education Teaching Credential Multiple Subject Teaching Credential 5th year education program, California State University-Chico Workshops with: Maxine Masterfield; Anne Pierce; Sal Casa. Studied under Alfred Dunn, & Mary Kirkwood, University of Idaho Graphic design and digital photography instruction, Butte College

Current Memberships and Affiliations

Art Etc. Co-op, Chico, California Paradise Art Center, Paradise, California Chico Art Center, Chico, California Fiber Arts Network, Butte County

Exhibitions & Juried Shows

Fischer Gallery, Chico, California Vagabond Rose, Gridley, California AAUW Art Show, Chico Professional Women in Art, Exhibit, 1078 Gallery, Chico California Arts League, Sacramento Mendocino Art Center – Mendocino, California Fine Arts Gallery, Marysville, California Thistle down Gallery, Chico, California Gallery Fair, Mendocino, California Art Works Gallery, Fair Oaks, California Paradise Art Center, Paradise, California National Juried Watercolor Exhibition, Springfield, Illinois Midwest Watercolor Society Annual Open Juried Show, Greenbay, Wisconsin Watercolor USA, Springfield, Illinois Oroville Art League Art Show, Oroville, California National On Show, Palenville, New York San Diego Watercolor Society International Exhibition, San Diego, California Holiday Invitational, Art Works, California California Arts League Annual, Sacramento, California Vacaville Art Show, Vacaville, California Cottage Artisans Annual Show, Chico, California Chico Art Center, Artists Tour, Chico, California Gold Nugget Museum, Maidu Mural, Paradise, California Paradise Art Center; Fiber Arts Network, Paradise, California Snow Goose Festival, Wine and Wildlife Reception & Art Show, Chico, California Garden, Home & Antique Show and Sale, Art & Wine Tasting. Chico, California “Candles in the Canyon” Dinner to support Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, State University Research Foundation, Chico, California Art Etc. – One Women Show – “Nature in Transition”

Traveling Exhibitions

National Juried Watercolor Exhibition, Illinois; one year U.S.A traveling exhibit.