Portrait Watercolor by Judy Pike

In this watercolor by Judy Pike, the seated figure, positioned on indistinct ground, oscillates between presence and erasure. The face, fragmented as if shattered by light, hovers between contemplation and dissolution. The gaze is reduced to the presence of a single eye, drifting in an undefined direction reminiscent of Egon Schiele's introspective portraits, where the soul surfaces through the dissonance of features.

The slightly low-angle perspective imparts an air of fragility to the figure, capturing a moment of surprise that contrasts with the heaviness of the bones in the hands and feet. It’s like looking through a window and catching a character curled in on himself, his posture conveying both presence and absence—a tension between the intimate and the inaccessible. The nervous contour, sculpted by black lines, defines the volumes while allowing the space to vibrate, with colors settling freely. The chromatic palette juxtaposes muted greens and hazy violets and creates an effect of transparency and instability. The fluid nature of watercolor reinforces this sense of unpredictability. Every contour seems ready to dissolve, as though the figure's representation were a memory fading in real-time. Here, the Californian artist Judy Pike does not fix a being in place but captures the fleeting imprint of an existence.

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 paint spirals, 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, 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, intending 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: LU654315749122
PERIOD: Late 20th Century
CONDITION: Good
MEASUREMENTS: Height: 18.5" Width: 18.5" Depth: 0.75"
COUNT: 1
MATERIAL: Watercolor
CREATOR: Judy Pike