Synchronicity Studio
A Passion For Painting
It has been said: "Pursue the things in life that stimulate your interest. Hold onto the ones that awaken your passion." From a young age it has been creative impulses that have awakened my passion. Creativity is about the thrill of taking raw materials and putting them together into something that is beautiful, original, and self-expressive. The creative process is exhilarating, surprising, and spiritual.
In 1987 I viewed the retrospective exhibit of Georgia O'Keeffe's body of work at the National Museum of Art in Washington, DC. This large show filled the entire museum as a fitting tribute to her contributions to art and to our American culture. I was enthralled with Ms. O'Keeffe's paintings. Over the next few years I realized that I had a growing interest in learning to paint.
What followed was a gradual embrace of the art of landscape painting over many years. I became an evening student in art classes in California and Maryland (with Jonathan Kay and Joan Bevelaque). I bought and read every art book that interested me. I attended workshops when available. Studying the paintings of others in museums and galleries became a regular part of my life. Without a doubt, learning to paint continues to be one of the most difficult tasks that I have attempted. The payoff is that painting continues to awaken my passion, challenges my creative impulses, and deeply enriches my life.
My painting grew out of a love of hiking and experiences of the landscape in all settings. With an artist's tools in hand, my perception and experience of beauty in the world has deepened and broadened with unending surprise and inspiration. What would our world be like without beauty to offset the ugliness of life? Through my paintings I attempt to reach an approximation of beauty, whether it be subtle or dramatic.
It is virtually impossible, nor desirable, to paint a scene exactly as I see it. Since we all physically see things differently, we all have a built in originality to our view of the world. My desire is to capture the synchronicity of each subject. The convergence of several elements in a view makes for a visual expression of harmony that hopefully approaches the experience that I wish to share with my viewers. With a measured dose of artistic license, I enjoy the self-expression that makes the painting process rich and sometimes even therapeutic. It is exciting to watch how each painting unfolds, including the happy surprises and the unexpected difficulties.
One of my motivations to paint is that for me it is inherently a spiritual experience. When I am on the trail, I often experience the synchronicity-that everything is as it should be. Leonardo da Vinci said it well: "Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple, or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous." Enjoy my translation, through paint, of the synchronicity.
Photo: MJW by Judy Hurula, Background: Rio Grande Spring, 2009, Oil On Canvas, 24 x 36