Title: Come Sit A While
Medium: Latex, acrylic paint, and fiber.

Artist: Judy Freidel
Hometown: Hot Springs Village

Contributing Sponsor: Gallery Central

Exhibitor: Gallery Central
Exhibit Location: 800 Central

Artist Bio: Judy is a contemporary artist, whose allegorical and fanciful paintings defy a sense of time. Her colored pencil and pen and ink drawings tempt the real into the imaginary. The rich glowing colors of her work seem to emit their own light, as a stained glass window would.

Judy has been fascinated by drawing since she was a child. She studied art at the University of Central Arkansas, where, in 1977, she received her bachelors degree. Since then, she has worked as a free lance artist and explored several media. She discovered colored pencil and now prefers it for it's ability to capture detail. She also works in fiber and has won awards for her art quilts. She makes her home in Hot Springs, AR.

Judy portrays the gossamer world that occupies our dreams and revelries. A glowing pumpkin or a checkered horse represents something different to each viewer. By asking the viewer into her imagination, she allows them to explore their own.

Keeping a sketch book handy and allowing her mind and pencil to wander, opens up her work to deeper truths and feelings. "I want the viewer to recognize their own inner world in my paintings," says Judy, "to be able to awaken their own dreams."

Judy is a member of The Colored Pencil Society of America and has participated in juried shows in the Midwest and the greater US. Her paintings are in private collections in Arkansas and Wisconsin.

Artist Interpretation: "Adirondack chairs, to me, evoke ideas of long summer afternoons spent on a grassy hill or wide front porch. I think of warm breezes and time to spend with your thoughts, your friends, or both. My chair design reflects this idea, with a welcoming sun, a peaceful moon and an inviting sentiment. I tried to include the things that say to me ….Relax!...Slow down!...Enjoy!

"I chose to work in latex and acrylic paint, because I have used them on wood before and have found that they work well and retain bright, clear colors. I am adding some fiber details for the tactile quality and also to bring the viewer from the painted to the real and back again. Fantasy and reality meet.

"Finally, I want the viewer to pause and study my chair. I want him to take his time and be rewarded for it. So, even if he decides to turn it over, he will be surprised to find the little frog."

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