ABOUT THE COVER ARTIST Judy Hawkins

In her dramatic sky representations, backlit trees and forests, and various scenes showing water's wondrous array of characteristics, artist Judy Hawkins creates mood through her color blends, composition and intuitive openness to follow where she feels guided. &emsp;She is in awe of nature, and her paintings capture the feeling she experiences in the midst of the beauty around us. &emsp;"I can paint realistically, but for me, it's more about representing what it felt like to me," she says. &emsp;Hawkins explains that her finished paintings often don't resemble the beginnings. &emsp;"My paintings evolve," she shares, adding, "I love color and like using it in a different way; I kind of make it up as I go along." &emsp;Some have commented about the darkness they see in some of her work. She replies that her stormy paintings also show light coming in from somewhere, so she finds them hopeful. &emsp;Marshes and wetlands particularly fascinate Hawkins — the water, colors, depth, layers and attention to reflections. She may begin by looking at the bottom with its sand and stones, then notice fish swimming about and skittering surface bugs, adding to the ripples. &emsp;"Even in a puddle, there's so much going on there," she notes. &emsp;The wide variety of her paintings and subjects keeps her growing, and she says she still has a lot to learn about what pleases and excites her. &emsp;After working on a particular series, Hawkins realizes she's done with it when it's not holding as much interest for her. Certain paintings have something exciting in them, but, overall, they're not working, so she sets them aside and may go back and re-work them later. Some nice paintings have resulted from this, she says. &emsp;While she may create paintings that share similar moods or colors and styles, she notes that most of them are one-of-a-kind. A friend might say to her, "Oh, I saw a Judy sky," she explains. &emsp;She says she begins her paintings at the top left and works across and down, yet she doesn't necessarily know where she's going. She often mixes paints on the canvas, creating colors and laying down thin glazes of oil that she builds up slowly after softening and blending each layer. She often removes some paint with turpentine and rags, re-applies it, and removes it again, repeating until the painting works and excites her. &emsp;Hawkins knew from age five or six that she was an artist. Her uncle, Abe Allen, was a part-time artist, and she still has a photo of herself sitting on his lap while he encouraged her to experiment with his paints. &emsp;She studied at Boston University School of Fine Arts but found it was not the right fit. She transferred to Windham College (now Landmark), where she studied with world-class watercolorist David Rohn, whose work is phenomenal, she says. &emsp;Hawkins is preparing for a one-person show called "An Artist's Exploration," which will be on display from April 19th through mid-June at Canal Street Art Gallery in Bellows Falls, Vermont. &emsp;See more of Judy Hawkins' work at judyhawkinspaintings.com and in the Farm Directory section of this magazine.