About the Artist
Judy Jaaskelainen, a Clarkdale, Arizona resident and a member of Northern Arizona Watercolor Society, explains her art background this way: "I began painting seriously in the 1970's while living in Southern California and recuperating from spinal surgery. My painting experience up to that time was in oils and acrylics on canvas. I began to visit galleries, art museums and exhibits and developed a deep appreciation for the art of watercolor. In essence, I was hooked. I located watercolor artists in the area whose work I felt strongly about and studied with them to develop my skills.
I quickly fell in love with the way the transparent properties of watercolor paints allow the paper to glow through it and how letting the medium "do it’s thing" on wet paper sometimes seems like the painting is creating itself. The watercolor paper I use has a slightly rough texture and the way the pigments play-out on that texture is very exciting to me.
I do not limit what subject matter I paint. I carry a scratch pad, pen and camera with me always. Living in the small, historic community of Clarkdale, I am surrounded by mountains, Sedona red rock,, high-desert plant life, rivers, and the old mining town of Jerome. Inspiration is abundant.
I believe I paint to express my excitement at being present. My awe of beauty and reverence for life, plus my perceived humor of the human condition move me to paint what I paint. I have been known to get very excited about such things as a warm shadow cast upon a worn wooden table or the reflection of an old historic building in the glass and steel of the new building standing beside it.
I often crop out a large percentage of what I see before me and focus on the core or essence of the subject. These decisions can be crucial but I love the challenge.
Some of my paintings are like children showing-off for their mother. Bright, bold colors that shout, "Hey, look at me! See how these colors bounce off the paper!" Other of my works are tranquil and seem to whisper their messages quietly.
There is a story behind each painting I create. Sometimes the entire story is evident and other times the painting reveals only a small piece of the experience. For example, in my painting titled, "Suzy and the Dancing Bush", Suzy was a willing model. An elder Native American who lives near Monument Valley, Arizona, she has a beautifully aged face and decades of stories shine through her eyes. My plan was to do a portrait that told of the wisdom and dignity that I saw in her eyes and posture. When I focused my camera lens on Suzy I was struck by a feeling of inner conflict. I felt invasive, as if I were crossing some unseen boundary. After a thoughtful pause, I noticed the beauty of the folds of her bright fuchsia-colored skirt and the traditional handmade moccasins on her feet. This then was to become my portrait of Suzy Yazzie. I combined that image with another I had seen earlier in the day, of a dry bush, still anchored in the earth that the wind had tossed and twirled repeatedly scratching soft patterns in the sand. It appeared as though the bush had been performing pirouettes.
These mysterious moments in my life have been expressed in my painting with colors and textures, the lyrical folds in the skirt, and finally , the elements of nature creating patterns in the sand over time. It bears witness to the event and relays a lovely piece of the story."
Archival prints of some paintings are available. Please contact the gallery for pricing and availability.
