On a Thursday night in November, Ouimillie held a colorful art opening on 126 Charles St for our newest resident artist, Judy Walker. Painted pieces of yupo paper covered the walls as people chatted, sipped, danced, and celebrated with us. We feel so lucky to have Judy featured, as not only is she an incredibly talented artist, but also the loving aunt of Millicent!
Judy Walker currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia but her art career began in Boulder, CO by studying with accredited landscape painter Herman Raymond. Walker later attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, where she received her MFA in Illustration. Walker then spent most of her art career in Southern California, where she has been a painter for over 40 years. Despite her resume of different artistic avenues including photography, graphic design and journalism, Walker chose to dedicate the past 10 years of her life to one specific style, zen painting.
Zen painting is unlike any other kind of painting. There is no planning or struggle involved. In order to zen paint, one must first reach a level of zen in themselves. This gives you the ability to set one's ideas aside and allow the work to flow through your body. The patterns that she creates on her canvases are constantly changing and moving. Zen painting allows Judy and her artworks to become one, allowing the inner meditative qualities Judy feels to be expressed on the canvas, and in turn allowing the viewer to then feel the same sense of evenness and calm.
There are 10 pieces of art hanging in Ouimillie on Charles street, all ranging in size and scale. Among the biggest works of art is entitled “Athens #2” and stands at 75" by 22" inches long. Despite the varying sizes, all of the pieces stick to the same medium and canvas: watercolor on yupo paper.
Because of the lack of porosity in yupo paper, painting on this medium requires a great deal of skill, one of which Walker has mastered over the years. Yupo paper is also synthetic, with a texture that replicates plastic. Because of this, Yupo paper makes the perfect base for metallic watercolor, as it does not allow the metallic to dull in any way, a feature that Walker doesn’t forget to include in any of her zen paintings. A great deal of patience comes into effect when it comes to these pieces drying, especially the large scale ones.
Judy’s pieces will be on display in our store at 126 Charles Street until April. Nothing compares to seeing these intricate pieces in real life. Come stop by, shop, have a great conversation, and view these masterpieces that Judy has covered our walls with.
