Judy Wurtz
Expressive Painting
Tucson Arizona

I love texture and will often experiment by gluing different papers, sawdust, crushed leaves or other materials to the canvas before beginning to paint. The interaction of these materials with the paint, the feel of the brush stroke as it moves over different surfaces, is always a surprise, sometimes delightful, sometimes disturbing, I never know if the interaction of paint and materials will create new challenges for the work,  present new avenues to pursue or offer surprising solutions to compositional problems. At other times in my work, I will use oil paint directly applied to the canvas in varying degrees of thickness to create interesting textures. Color, too, fascinates me, the interplay of one color laid next to another, the variations created by layer upon layer, the subtle power of muted colors.

 

The act of painting moves me. I, in turn, strive to create a work of art that will move the observer, give them pause, create a sense of stillness, evoke other emotions/memories or spark a conversation within a group. Thus the painting becomes even more than it was. What it means to me may not be the same as what it means to the observer and so, it only needs a pause and a new set of eyes to become something new, again and again.

 

Judy Wurtz