WEST BRATTLEBORO — Painter Judy Hawkins, whose studio is a stop on the annual Putney Craft Tour in November, is showing recent work in gallery spaces at All Souls Church Unitarian Universalist in West Brattleboro through the end of March.
An artist's reception is set for 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13.
In addition to her familiar luminous landscapes, Hawkins says that her recent paintings “explore water in varied dimensions, from the pond bottom through layers of water, to surface tension and reflection, to water splashes and ripples. . . . I begin a new painting at the top and work my way down, working quickly to establish mood through color and composition. I allow the paint, drips and accidental color combinations, to guide my vision.”
Her paintings take shape through the layering of thin glazes of oil paint on canvas, removing and blending color with turpentine and rags, and reapplying paint again and again.
This evolutionary process results in paintings that often end up quite different from their beginnings. Sometimes, she says she even revisits older work to allow reinterpretation, “using the painting as a 'jumping off point' for change and renewal. I let the process take me where it will."
After studying at the Boston University School of Fine Arts and the Brooklyn Museum School, Hawkins majored in art at Windham College in Putney, and later taught design and drawing there. Now retired from teaching special education in public schools, she has taught painting privately to middle and high school students, as well as adults in her studio.
The reception on Feb. 13 offers an opportunity to talk with the artist about her work and the creative process, as well as enjoy a bountiful refreshment table provided by the All Souls Arts Committee.
Otherwise, the gallery is open for visitors during public events in the building and from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In addition to the Judy Hawkins exhibit, several paintings, photographs, prints, and fine art posters from the Beverly Alberts Collection, donated to All Souls in 2015, are available for purchase in the Main Hall.