Love of stories has always been compelling for Judy Fawcett. When her mother read from Wind in the Willows, she loved imagining that the creatures she found at the end of the lake were the ones from the story. Today she knows this early use of her imagination helps her as she creates her art.

Fawcett’s interest in drawing and art came from observing her creative mother who dabbled in dance, ceramics, drawing, sculpture, writing verse, envisioning musicals, even inventing home improvements while raising five children. Her mother, sculpting or practicing dance, was often the subject of Judy’s sketches.

Fawcett’s entrance into the arts was through dance including four years in New York pursing her dream of dancing professionally. However, it was not until after marriage, raising a family and a career in teaching, that she discovered a love of painting. Fawcett’s work is inspired by beauty in nature, travels to foreign places, curiosity about different cultures and the work of other artists.

Formerly, Fawcett often started a painting idea by capturing a sun-lit moment with her camera and later used photo references to inspire watercolor paintings. More recently, she has shifted away from a literal subject and acrylics have become her preferred medium. Now she seeks to simplify shapes and chooses a color palette that best expresses the mood or feelings she has about the subject.

Regarding a recent series of butterfly paintings, Fawcett shares, “This series was inspired by a concern for species survival. These large abstracted butterflies were my metaphor for all species endangered by climate change and human intervention.” She magnified their plight by enlarging the butterflies and taking the opportunity to experiment with texture and move away from a literal interpretation.

With the tools of abstraction and use of acrylics, Judy feels free to follow her imagination and emotions to tell the story. After laying down a brushful of luscious color, she feels compelled to juxtaposition of another rich color. In a similar way one shape or line leads the way for another. Then by a process of adding and eliminating, moving ahead intuitively with brush or palette knife, she builds a drama.