Peggy Judy, Gossip, acrylic, 24 x 36.
This story was featured in the January 2017 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art January 2017 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
Longhorns, antelope, bison, wolves, deer, and geese—you name it, Peggy Judy has painted it. But if one subject reigns supreme in the artist’s western and agrarian works, it’s decidedly the beloved horse. An equestrian passion runs in the Colorado native’s family—her husband is an equine veterinarian and her two children, now grown, are skilled horsemen—so it seems only natural that paintings of horses and horsemanship claim a major portion of Judy’s oeuvre.
Having owned a sport horse training and breeding facility for 30 years, Judy has had plenty of reference material to tap, but she also brings inventive interpretations of the creature to her canvas. “I don’t need to present the horses in my art as true to life,” she says. “I want to express the power and vibrancy of the animal using color, light, and space. I tend to see things as compositions rather than scenes.”
-
- Peggy Judy, Drew the Short Straw, acrylic, 20 x 20.
-
- Peggy Judy, Gossip, acrylic, 24 x 36.
-
- Peggy Judy, Champagne, acrylic, 20 x 20.
-
- Peggy Judy, The Headdress, acrylic, 24 x 18.
-
- Peggy Judy, Tight Reign, acrylic, 20 x 20.
-
- Peggy Judy, Big Dreams, acrylic, 24 x 18.
Judy studied art at Colorado State University, where instructors Phil Risbeck and John Sorbie were “extremely influential,” she says. “John was intense and sharp, like his art,” she adds, while “Phil was softer edged and allowed us to explore and create.” Today, Judy says she often reflects back on—and understands—what they were trying to teach her: “To see, to listen, to challenge myself, and to explore,” she says. “To be my own person.”
See Judy’s work at Kneeland Gallery, Ketchum, ID; Acosta Strong Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM; Ann Korologos Gallery, Basalt, CO; Equis Art Gallery, Red Hook, NY; Act I Gallery, Taos, NM; Western Stars Gallery and Studio, Lyons, CO; Tracy Miller Gallery, Manitou Springs, CO; Mary Williams Fine Arts, Boulder, CO; and www.peggyjudy.fineaw.com. —Kim Agricola
This story was featured in the January 2017 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art January 2017 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ART COLLECTORS & ENTHUSIASTS
• Subscribe to Southwest Art magazine
• Learn how to paint & how to draw with downloads, books, videos & more from North Light Shop
• Sign up for your Southwest Art email newsletter & download a FREE ebook