Mixed Media Color Pencil Drawing by Judy Pike

Mixed media can be approached as an alchemy of materials, textures, collages, and assemblages. Judy Pike explores this approach in this portrait.

The female figure is seated on a couch; her body and the surrounding space are portrayed in a way that disrupts the viewer's perception of reality. The face, which draws the eye, is only partially rendered, with one eye disappearing into a blank area, creating a sense of disconnection. This approach is deliberate, leading to a feeling of imbalance and absence. A trace of sadness is present on the face, highlighted by the shape of the mouth.

The body follows this dynamic of instability. The thighs are pressed together, and the gap between the feet suggests unease and timidity. One foot, tilted onto its outer edge, intensifies the discomfort, while the hands resting on the touching knees reinforce the posture of restraint. The background amplifies this sensation of weightlessness. The checkered wall, reminiscent of a chessboard, contrasts with the almost tangible velvet of the couch, itself juxtaposed against a floor evoking the textured carpets of the 1970s. This interplay of surfaces and patterns, far from being merely decorative, fragments space, blurs depth and dissolves linear perspective. The scene does not project forward.

One detail stands out: the visible seams along the right edge of the work. They create a boundary, an artificial separation. This visual seam raises questions about the nature of the image—is it a cohesive whole or a collection of separate parts? This line suggests the concept of an incomplete portrait, representing a fragmented identity and an ongoing story. Here, the portrait does not seek to capture a single, fixed reality but rather to open a space for multiple interpretations, where the constructed and the ephemeral coexist in precarious balance.

BIO
Judith Minna Pike December 19, 1942- October 18, 2019, Mixed media painting of a young, thoughtful woman sitting comfortably. Pike used many different brush techniques when painting this portrait. Up close, you can see repeated spirals of paint creating the background. The woman is made up of bigger impressionist strokes with gouache. Details of the hands and face are emphasized with black pastel/charcoal. To the right of the piece, Pike includes collage cutouts. Judy briefly taught Spanish at Lincoln High School after college, but art became her life-long passion. She experimented with clay and reiki pottery for several years but eventually transitioned to watercolor, oil painting, mixed media, and figurative drawings for most of her career. Judy discussed her creative process in an artist’s statement around one of her solo shows featuring a group of mixed-media figurative pieces. 'We are all more than one thing,’ said Judy, encouraging her models to play with different personas when they pose. ‘People are complicated, which I try to capture in my work. Gestures, features, mood, clothing, choice, and facial expressions make a model unique,e and drawing becomes a conversation between the model and the artist. As I add layers, my goal is to clarify and deepen that conversation, revealing the model as an individual, not just a type.’” An award-winning artist and juror, Judy’s work often drew on inspiration from family photos from her childhood and later years. Her art has been exhibited in several solo and group shows, including four featured exhibitions at the San Diego Institute of Art. In 2003, she was featured in the Watercolor Magic Magazine Yearbook “Ones to Watch.” Judy co-founded the Figurative Inspiration Group (FIG) in 2006 to create a space for a unique collaboration between models and artists. She was an active West Coast Drawing Group member and curated a monthly art show at Adam’s Avenue Grille for several years.

REFERENCE NUMBER: LU654315748992
PERIOD: Late 20th Century
CONDITION: Good
MEASUREMENTS: Height: 18.5" Width: 18.5" Depth: 0.75"
COUNT: 1
MATERIAL: Mixed Media
CREATOR: Judy Pike